Friends, Again
by UhhICanExplain
Summary: Jaune and Pyrrha get married very young, but soon find out that not all things were meant to last. A realistic take on the Arkos relationship. [Artwork by the-stray-liger on Tumblr.]
1. Pyrrha and Jaune Forever

**Hey all. I'm starting a new fic. **

**After finishing _Inch _by GEP and his editor Narutochaos22, I was set on writing a more serious, emotional fic. So this came about; it's also based on a movie, but I'll keep that info to myself for now. Maybe you can take a go on guessing which movie it is!**

**Beta: Maxaro. Based on your comments, I think you'll enjoy this one very, _very_ much.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Jaune?"

The blonde boy stopped struggling with the spear that had embedded his jacket in the thick bark behind him. His eyes searched for the source of the voice, eventually peering several feet below him to find the beautiful redhead (what was her name… Pyrrha or something like that?) looking on worriedly as he remained suspended in midair.

"Do you… have any spots left on your team?" she asked coyly.

Jaune was a very oblivious boy. Even he knew that. But being made fun of was apparently a very common motif in his life.

"Very funny." Jaune crossed his arms in mock irritation.

Pyrrha remained patient down below.

Finally the blonde boy relented, throwing away his façade of annoyance and offered the redhead a grateful smile.

His heart fluttered just a little when she smiled back.

* * *

Pyrrha stood on the outskirts of the dance floor, not quite sure what she was doing there. Jaune was nowhere to be found; more importantly, he didn't come to the dance with her as his date. Sure, perhaps initially she had come to be amongst her friends, especially since Yang and Weiss had worked so hard to prepare the whole thing. But it hurt. It hurt to be there. It hurt to be anywhere near Jaune, who seemed to miss her completely as he fell head over heels for Weiss.

The redheaded girl sighed tiredly, her fingers playing with the hem of her flowing red dress. _Well, everyone else here is having fun_, she thought to herself. _I guess I could leave now without anyone noticing…_

She suddenly heard quiet laughter behind her, growing louder and louder until it almost seemed to be upon her. She turned to see what the commotion was about and saw-

"Jaune?"

It was indeed Jaune.

In a dress, no less. It somehow clung to his frame quite nicely.

He shrugged sheepishly. "A promise is a promise."

Pyrrha looked Jaune up and down, then back up again.

She laughed. It was probably the hardest that she had laughed in a very long time.

"Jaune! You didn't have to!" she managed in between fits of mirth.

The blonde boy chuckled. "Hey, an Arc never goes back on his word. Now…" He extended a hand towards her. "Do you want to stand there and laugh at me, or do you want to dance?"

Still laughing, Pyrrha considered her choices. Continuing to laugh at his little stint _did_ seem very enticing, she had to admit. However, the alternative was something that she had been waiting on for a quite some time now, and if she missed it now…

Pyrrha placed her hand in his, smiling with all the joy in the world.

"I would love to dance."

* * *

Afternoon's rays shone through the Beacon library as Pyrrha scanned through the shelves for one of the books that Professor – no, _Doctor_ – Oobleck had required them to use for the upcoming "Extinct Civilizations" project. She'd already managed to grab three other outside books that would come in handy for some more in-depth info for the civilization she was working with, but the book that she was looking for now had managed to elude her completely.

After another twenty minutes of going up and down the shelves of the history and research section, Pyrrha reluctantly admitted defeat. All copies of the book we're already checked out.

She banged her head in frustration against the current row of books in front of her. It was 5:30pm on a Friday, and all she wanted to do was to find the book and head back to the dorm. Her team had been planning to go see a movie tonight, after all.

Pyrrha glanced around the library for any forms of help. It seemed that even most of the librarians had decided to call it a day, leaving Pyrrha not only without her book, but also without any means to reserve the next possible copy.

Sighing, she turned to leave, but not before a hand wrapped around her face and covered her eyes.

"Guess who."

Despite her current mood, Pyrrha cracked a smile. "Jaune. What are you doing?"

"Well, I was looking all over the place for you, y'know. We're about to go in a few." Her boyfriend and partner removed his hand from her eyes and frowned. "What's the matter? You look like somebody killed your cat."

Pyrrha smirked. "First of all, you know I think that dogs make for vastly superior pets –"

"Don't let Blake catch you saying that."

The redhead punched Jaune playfully, who made an expression of mock pain.

"And second of all, I've been trying to find that one book that Oobleck told us we needed on our project."

Jaune crossed his arms. "_The History of Untold Cities_?"

Pyrrha nodded. "Yep. That's the one."

"Hmmm." Jaune grinned, a twinkle in his eye. "Well, lucky for you, you have a partner who's inept for most combat-involved stuff but can remember the shit out of a book name."

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Give yourself a _little_ more credit than that. You made it to the third year, after all."

Jaune shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose that's not too bad. Anyway, I believe _this_ is what you're looking for." The blond boy pulled out a book that he had been hiding behind his back.

Pyrrha's eyes widened. "That's it! That's the book! How'd you manage to get your hands on it?"

"C'mon. I thought you said I deserved a little credit." Jaune beamed. "Checked out the very last one in stock. I knew we were going to need it for the project, so I came here early this morning."

His partner wrapped him in a crushing hug. "You're the best."

Jaune laughed. "Well, I do what I ca-" He was cut off as Pyrrha met her lips with his.

They kissed passionately, even more so as time went on, until they separated, flustered.

"Woah. Getting a little frisky, aren't we?" Jaune asked with a sly grin.

His girlfriend returned the smirk. "Maybe a little bit. Besides, it's 5:30 on a Friday, nobody's here."

"Well actually, I passed by some –" Pyrrha shut the blonde boy up once more as she pushed him up against the shelves and kissed him even more.

Desire took over, and neither Pyrrha nor Jaune cared if anyone saw.

* * *

"I'm gonna miss this spot."

The pair sat on the edge of their old training spot on the roof by their dorm, enjoying the night air and each other's company. While most nights would find the two sparring, tonight was not one of those nights.

Jaune sighed. "I can't believe we're graduating tomorrow."

"I know," replied his girlfriend and partner. "It seems like just yesterday we were standing on those cliffs trying to figure out how to land."

"More like _I_ was trying to figure out how to land. You had your landing strategy in the bag."

Pyrrha chuckled. "I had a moment of hesitation there, trust me. It's not everyday someone launches you a hundred feet in the air and says, 'Good luck!'"

"I have a hard time believing that," Jaune snorted, then grew sad. "We made a lot of memories up here, you and I."

"That we did."

"You think Ozpin'll let us back up here when we grow nostalgic about the old days?"

Pyrrha laughed. "I'd be more worried about Professor Goodwitch, if anyone."

"Oh. Right." Jaune mulled over the thought for a moment. "Yeah, we're not coming back up here anytime soon, huh?"

His partner laughed again. "Probably not."

They sat in silence for a while. With all the stars glimmering brightly like Van Gogh's _Starry Night Over the Rhone, _it was indeed the perfect night.

The last perfect night.

Pyrrha turned to her partner. "At least we'll still be doing our thing together, right?"

"Absolutely." Jaune smiled at her. "I will follow you to the ends of Remnant if I have to."

"And I would do the same for you." The redhead leaned her head on her partner's shoulder. "No need to get too sad about leaving here. We've still got our whole lives ahead of us."

"Yeah…" Jaune wrapped an arm around Pyrrha. "Still… Beacon's been our home for four whole years now. It definitely feels like I'm about to lose something."

"Well, I, for one, am glad that we were here in the first place," said Pyrrha dreamily. "Without being here, I wouldn't have become the huntress and person that I am today. I wouldn't have had such a great team, or friends, even. And… I wouldn't have met you."

She laughed. "Now I have friendships that'll last a lifetime. I'll always have my team to go to. And you and me… we'll get to keep doing our duty together – as partners."

Pyrrha watched Jaune's face grow pensive for a moment.

He shook his head. "Nah."

The redhead blinked. "W-what do you mean, 'nah?'"

Jaune turned to her and winked. "I think I can do one better than just 'partners.'"

With that, Jaune stood up and pulled a small box out of his pocket. With a deep breath, he went down on one knee.

Pyrrha's eyes became as wide as saucers and she bolted to her feet. She knew what was coming next.

"Pyrrha, I'm not the best with words. You know that. So let's cut to the chase – will you marry me?"

The box opened, revealing a diamond-encrusted band of silver. Aside from the diamonds, the metal was intricately carved, with aesthetically beautiful patterns and even Jaune and Pyrrha's symbols combined together as one.

"Yes... yes, a million times, yes!" Pyrrha managed between overflowing tears as her now-fiancé rose to his feet. "Yes, I will marry you."

"That's… that's great!" Jaune wrapped her in his arms, and she hugged him back just as tightly.

"Dammit Jaune Arc," she laughed. "You've gone and made me cry. Where did you get such a beautiful ring?"

"Seven sisters, five of them love jewelry. It wasn't too hard to find." Jaune smiled and slipped the ring onto Pyrrha's ring finger.

"It's lovely, Jaune." The redhead took a moment to gather herself. "Wow. We're getting married. We're actually getting married."

"Yup." Jaune pulled her in close. "Should we wait until after graduation to tell the others?"

Pyrrha nodded. "Yeah. Tomorrow's a big day for everyone." She started laughing. "Shit, Jaune. We're graduating. We're getting married and we're graduating!"

"Geez, at this point I don't know which one to be more nervous for…" Jaune chuckled. "Let's take it one step at a time, shall we?"

His fiancé beamed at him "Yes. One step at a time."

They kissed deeply, and the moon bathed their silhouettes upon that rooftop for the last time.

* * *

"Hey Ren?"

"Yes Jaune?"

"Pinch me."

Jaune's best man rolled his eyes. "That's the thirtieth time you've asked me to do that today."

"I know, I know, I'm just having a really hard time believing that this is actually happening."

"Well, it's happening, and I'll bet that Pyrrha probably feels the same way you do."

The pair stood near the front of the stage, waiting for the doors at the end of the room to open. Seats lined in front of them, full of relatives and friends. All of SSSN filled out the rest of the groomsmen; opposite them stood Team RWBY and Nora as the maid of honor.

"God, I think I might explode if I need to wait a minute longer."

Ren, bless his heart, remained patient with the twenty-two year old groom. "Relax, Jaune. You're going to be just fine. You were our team's leader for four years, after all."

Jaune groaned. "This is so much worse. Tell me to go slice up some Grimm and save a town? I can do that. Make me wait for God knows how long as my fiancé is probably navigating through some labyrinth just to get here? That's just fucking cruel. What if something happens to her?"

"She's a very capable girl. You should know that, Jaune. Plus, she's not going to be your fiancé for much longer."

"Right." Jaune breathed deeply. "My wife. Not my fiancé. Holy shit, Ren, I'm gonna be married."

Ren chuckled. "I know."

And just when Jaune didn't think he could stand it any longer, the organ started playing, and the doors finally cracked open.

She stood there, glowing from the sunlight, in all her splendor.

Pyrrha looked up.

Their eyes met.

She smiled.

So did he.

And she walked down the aisle.

The closer she got, the faster his heart began to race.

And then she was there, standing right across from him. He could touch her, she was so close.

The minister spoke, but Jaune heard none of it. All he could see was the woman before him.

His soulmate.

His… _wife._

"… you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"And do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Jaune exhaled. "I do."

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Their lips touched, and the room exploded in cheers

It was a celebration of love, life, and everyone involved.

But Jaune and Pyrrha only had eyes for each other.

"I love you so much, Pyrrha."

"And I love you too, Jaune."

* * *

Dinner with the old teammates was usually a treat. Tonight was especially grand because Yang and Blake were also in town and joined in at Ren and Nora's place, bringing the number of occupants to a grand total of six. They rarely saw each other due to their busy schedules as hunters and huntresses, so any chance they had they spent together as old friends.

There was, however, a change in the air.

"It was a dark and stormy night," began Nora.

"Midday, sunny," corrected Ren.

"There we were, swarmed by Grimm in every direction…"

"The town had only one way in and out, it was actually quite easy to bottleneck the pack."

"The townspeople were crying, 'Save us, oh glorious Valkyrie!'"

"What they actually said was, 'Please don't damage our town any more than you already have.'"

Nora glared at Ren. "That's a creative liberty on _your_ behalf, for once."

Ren only smirked in response.

Although they knew what to expect, Yang, Blake, and Jaune listened intently as Nora wove her tale of comedy, tragedy, heroism, and straight up badassery.

Pyrrha, however, seemed cold and distant.

"… And that's the story of how we saved the town of Vayne!"

Ren frowned. "That's… actually how it ended."

As they laughed and chatted further, Jaune leaned across the table, a look of worry on his face. "Pyrrha?" he whispered quietly.

No response.

"Pyr, please. Talk to me, honey."

Silence.

"Pyrrha… tell me what's wrong. You know you can talk to me."

Nothing.

"Honey, don't be like –"

"You know exactly what's wrong."

Pyrrha had broken her silence, and at this point the rest of the table was staring at the tense couple.

"No, honey, you gotta tell me."

"Oh, fuck you."

The remaining four collectively inhaled sharply. Pyrrha didn't swear very much around them. Something was definitely up.

"Oh, fuck me!?" Jaune's brow began to furrow. "What the hell is your problem? We're at a fucking social setting, and you're just going to write me off in front of our friends?"

Pyrrha glared at him. "Well, if you stop skirting around the subject, then maybe we could talk like adults!"

"Like adults!? You're the one acting like a child, not telling what's wrong!"

"We just had an argument about this before we left the house, and you just brushed it aside like it never happened!"

"WELL, TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG!"

"YOU DON'T LISTEN! YOU NEVER DO!"

Pyrrha stood up abruptly and marched out of the front door, slamming it on the way out.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune followed after her.

Ren, Nora, Yang, and Blake looked at each other in the silence that followed.

"You, uh… you guys know how long that's been going on?" Yang asked hesitantly.

Ren sighed. "For the last few weeks now."

"Really? That long?"

"Yeah. I was surprised that they decided to –"

The foursome winced as they heard Jaune and Pyrrha raucously arguing again from the outside of the house.

Ren sighed again. "– come over for dinner," he finished.

Even Nora was crestfallen. "It's terrible that Jaune and Pyrrha can't even do dinner anymore, they're so busy arguing with each other. Their marriage was going so smoothly too, until the last month-and-a-half."

Yang slumped in her seat. "Never thought in a million years that they wouldn't even last five years."

"To be fair, it was a pretty good five years they had there," added Blake.

"Yeah… I hope they get their shit figured out," murmured Yang. The rest nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the front door swung open and Jaune poked his head in, a brooding expression on his face.

"Sorry everyone, we're going to go home early. Pyrrha and I have some… personal issues we need to hammer out. And Yang, Blake… I 'm sorry, I'll try to catch up with you guys better the next time you're in town or I'm near you two. Stay safe, you guys."

And with that, Jaune rushed hurriedly out the door.

The awkward silence prolonged as the sounds of a car angrily driving away held their undivided attention.

"Moodkiller…" muttered Yang.

The other three laughed nervously at her offhand comment.

Nora rested her head on her hands. "You think they're gonna be okay, Renny?"

Ren gave her a sad smile. "I… I really don't know."

* * *

**And the stage has been set.**

**As you can see, it's not gonna be a sunshine-and-butterflies fic for sure. We'll get through it, though. I promise.**

**In the meantime, this fic will probably update very sparsely, at least until Infinite Playlist is complete.**

**Until next time!**


	2. Talking Crazy

**Hello again, friends!**

**I said, I was going to update this one pretty sparsely, but I guess this chapter just needed to get out of my head. So here it is!**

**The response I got on the last chapter was just fantastic, so if I haven't said it before, thank you guys for all your support.**

**Beta: Maxaro. Yrros rof lla eht dab gnippihs.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Jaune sighed at the stack of paperwork in his lap as he sat, alone on a bench outside in the budding warmth of spring. If he had counted correctly, there were about three more pages left to review in this specific packet… then about a hundred more of those packets to go through. It was daunting, to say the least.

This wasn't exactly what a younger Jaune would've seen himself doing at the ripe age of twenty-seven.

Of course, quite a few things had changed since then, between his current job and his present relationship with Pyrrha.

Speaking of which…

_Hoooooonk!_

Jaune looked up to see a dark blue sedan pull up to the curb in front of him. The window rolled down to reveal a grinning Pyrrha, a pair of horn-rimmed glass donned on her face. "Hey Jaune!"

The blonde smiled. He hurriedly stuffed the rest of the papers into his shoulder bag and jogged to the car.

"Hey, you," greeted Jaune, as he climbed inside the car. "Have I ever told you that you should most definitely wear glasses more often?"

"Oh, I just got lazy today," laughed Pyrrha. "I like wearing my contacts more. I don't have to worry about these deadweights sliding down my nose every five seconds."

"Well, at least I tried," Jaune sighed. "How's your day been?"

Pyrrha shrugged and started to drive. "Pretty dull, for the most part. I went in and got the reward for my last mission, and I actually need to pick up my next one before we go home."

"You ever think about relaxing every once in a while? I can't quite remember the last time you took a break from huntress… ing? Anyway, I say you deserve one at this point."

The redhead laughed. "You think? A break _does _sound nice. What about you? How's your job treating you?"

Jaune groaned. "It's pretty rough. Sometimes I wonder why the hell I have to get swamped with all these papers all the damn time."

"Well, it was _your_ decision to stop being a huntsman and to become a professor instead."

"Yeah. I know," Jaune sighed. "I… I just can't go back to that life."

Pyrrha gave him a reassuring smile. "I understand. Nobody's making you go back if you don't want to."

"It's just… I don't feel like I've escaped my past at all." Jaune gazed solemnly at Pyrrha. "I can't help but keep thinking that I'm just training and teaching these kids to go out on the frontlines to die."

"Jaune," answered the redhead sternly. "You have got to stop blaming yourself for all those things that happened. You did all you could to help them, and that's all they could've ever asked from you. Now, I think you taking up a teaching job is the perfect fit for you! You're great at motivating people to better themselves. Trust me, I would know – we were on a team together for four years, after all. But I think what makes you the best professor is that you care about these kids. And if you're the Jaune I know you are, you're going to provide these kids with all the tools to keep them safe in their careers as huntsmen and huntresses."

"I'm not going to be able to save them all."

"But you'll be able to save most of them." Pyrrha slowed the car down as the traffic in Vale screeched to a halt. "Look, Jaune, these kids know what they're in for. They know they'll be putting their lives on the line to protect the people they love, but you can make sure that many of them will be able to return home to their families. And I think that's an honorable pursuit. So if nothing else, you should be proud of that."

Jaune stared distantly at the cars as they crawled by. "You think?"

"I do." Pyrrha sighed. "Traffic isn't supposed to be this bad, what the hell?"

"You know, I'm not sure," replied Jaune. "Maybe it's another White Fang attack."

"I highly doubt it. They haven't been even remotely active in Vale for the last year and a half." Suddenly, Pyrrha grinned. "Hey, let's take a detour. I think I know something that'll cheer you up."

Jaune laughed tiredly. "What could that possibly be?"

"Well… it's Friday, neither of us have work tomorrow. You know the old arcade near A Simple Wok? I heard they just installed a new DDR machine," Pyrrha replied with a wink.

"Really…" Smiling, Jaune pondered over the prospect of beating Pyrrha in the one the he was better at than her. "Don't you need to go pick up the report for your next job?"

"Well, I figured maybe that break you suggested could do me some good."

"Ah. But we're still meeting with Blake and Yang later for dinner, I think. You sure we'll have time?"

"Oh, we'll definitely have time. I just need to give you a proper ass-whooping, that's all," Pyrrha smirked.

"Okay, if you put it like that, I'm sold." Jaune cracked his knuckles. "Let's go. This professor needs to give a certain somebody a proper schooling on the history of dance."

Pyrrha guffawed. "Oh, it is on."

* * *

The restaurant that Blake and Yang wanted to meet Jaune and Pyrrha at was rather fancy-looking as well as expensive. Usually, when any of the old eight decided to grab dinner with each other, it was either at someone's house or at a restaurant of much less elegance, so the selection of the current eatery piqued Jaune and Pyrrha's curiosity.

The foursome sat in a booth table near the back of the restaurant, the darkened lighting providing for a relaxed ambiance as they talked of old things and new things over drinks.

"So, I've got to ask the question on our minds right now – why such a fancy restaurant?" inquired Pyrrha, looking around the place in awe.

"Well…" Blake's face began to redden. "We just couldn't wait for everyone else to get back in town. We just had to tell someone."

Pyrrha and Jaune leaned forward in their seats, eagerly awaiting whatever news the girls were planning to reveal.

Yang beamed and took Blake's hands into her own. "We're getting married!"

For a moment, Yang's announcement was met with silence from the blonde and the redhead, and she wondered briefly if she had accidently struck a nerve.

Then…

"Oh my gosh, that's wonderful!" Pyrrha put her mouth over her hands. "That's absolutely wonderful!"

Jaune grinned. "Seriously, congrats you two! Have you got a date in mind?"

Blake smiled shyly. "We're thinking either September or December of next year."

"Wow," Jaune thought for a moment. "That's more than a year away."

"Yeah. We figured we could use the extra time to work out all the details," answered Yang happily.

"Ooh!" the redhead exclaimed excitedly. "When did you guys get engaged? Can I see the ring?"

"Almost two months now," answered Blake, a smile playing on her lips, and brandished the diamond band.

Jaune stared in admiration at the ring. "So… that means Yang proposed? I'm not exactly sure how that works in this kind of situation."

Yang burst out laughing.

"No Jaune, I proposed and kept the ring for myself," Blake teased mirthfully.

The blonde man rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. Stupid question, I get it."

Pyrrha patted him on the back. "It's alright, Jaune. We've come to expect this from you."

"Hey –"

"Anyway," interrupted the redhead before Jaune could complain. "You two have anything planned for the wedding yet? I know it's more than a year away, but weddings take quite a bit of preparation."

"No, not yet," shrugged Yang. "The amount of stuff we gotta take care of… it's a little terrifying."

Pyrrha nodded happily. "Oh, that's understandable. You know, Jaune and I have experience with setting up weddings. We could absolutely lend a hand if you two needed it."

"Totally!" Jaune agreed.

"Uh… thanks, you guys," mumbled Yang, suddenly apprehensive.

Blake had the same apprehension on her face. "We… we were actually going to tell you two that you can bring plus-ones, if you wanted to."

"Plus-ones?" Jaune and Pyrrha shared a confused look before Pyrrha spoke. "Well, we're probably just going to go with each other. I don't think we'll need the plus-ones."

Yang frowned. "Isn't that… maybe just a little bit weird?"

Pyrrha glanced at Jaune. "No, I don't think so. Why would that be?"

"Yeah, why would that be?" echoed Jaune.

"Are you being serious right now?" Yang almost yelled exasperatedly.

"Yang," Blake tried to interject. "You shouldn't –"

"No, I need to say this." Yang crossed her arms and leaned on the table. "You two have been separated for the last six months. Fuck, you're getting divorced! And you guys still cling to each other every waking day of every week! Isn't that just the slightest bit weird!?"

"Well, you're not completely right," protested Jaune. "Pyrrha's out of town most of the time doing her duties, much like you guys are. But I'm stuck at home grading papers and giving lectures to half-awake kids. So I don't get to see her _that_ often."

"Ok, that's fair," Yang conceded. "But when she _is_ around, you two are inseparable, which isn't really a thing that happens between two people who about to get divorced from each other. Not to mention, when you say 'home?' You two still live in the same house? I… I just don't get it."

"Well, we sleep in separate rooms," countered Pyrrha. "I mean… we're pretty separate."

"Totally," agreed Jaune. "Not weird at all. Right?"

"It _is_ a little weird," admitted Blake.

Yang nodded. "Thank you!"

Pyrrha sighed. "Look, you two, we may be getting divorced, but we're still best friends."

"The bestest of friends," added Jaune.

"Absolutely. In fact, I think you guys should be happy for us. I mean, we used to argue all the time! You don't have to put up with that anymore. We're great now, and I think the fact that we still get along quite well is just a testament to our friendship," finished Pyrrha.

Jaune nodded. "So what if it's a little weird? Why should we care what other people think? I say we just do what makes us happy, and I'd say me and Pyrrha staying friends makes us pretty happy."

Yang lifted her hands in defeat. "If you say so. I'm just gonna say, as a friend, the way you two are heading right now, things are gonna change. For better or worse, I don't know, but they _will_change."

"Nah." Jaune waved off her statement. "We'll be good."

Pyrrha nodded. "I think so, too. But let's not take the spotlight off of you and Blake! This is big news, after all. We should have a toast."

"To what?"

"How about… happiness?"

"Works for me. To happiness!"

"TO HAPPINESS!"

* * *

It was 10pm by the time Jaune and Pyrrha finished their dinner with the newly engaged couple. Jaune was driving this time around, weaving through the streets of Vale as they made their way back home.

They rode in silence for a while, as their thoughts raced, separate of each other. Sure, they still enjoyed each other's company, but it never was the same as it used to be. The two used to relish bathing and breathing in the other's presence, but nowadays their lives were not quite so intertwined.

Whether the closeness they once shared was something they missed remained a secret that each kept from the other.

Finally, Pyrrha broke the silence. "Hey, Jaune?"

"Hmmm?"

"… Yang and Blake are crazy, right?"

Jaune frowned, the city's lights reflecting off his face as the passed by. "For getting engaged? I mean, sure they might be polar opposites, and maybe human-faunus marriages aren't widely accepted yet, but –"

"No, silly!" Pyrrha shook her head, laughing. "I'm talking about what they said over dinner."

"How do you mean?" Jaune inquired.

"Well, I mean… them saying that what… _we_ do… you know, us hanging out… is weird. We're not weird, right?" The redhead looked to Jaune for assurance.

"Nah. I don't think so."

"Yeah. Neither do I." Pyrrha smiled. "You're my best friend. You'll always be my best friend. You know that, right?"

Jaune smirked. "I do. The same goes for you. You're _my_ best friend, too."

"Thanks, Jaune." Pyrrha went quiet for a moment, before turning back to the blonde. "Yang and Blake are completely crazy, right?"

"Totally. Like, Oobleck-level crazy."

"That's _Doctor_, to you."

"Oh hush," laughed Jaune. "As much as I respect the man, I'd like to forget the shitload of papers he made us write in that class. I swear if someone sent me back a couple hundred years, I could make a pretty decent living as a scribe."

Pyrrha giggled. "You could be an author, you know. I'm sure Blake could get you started on that route pretty easily if you wanted to."

"Nah. I'm great at writing, not so much at coming up with what to write." Jaune suddenly brightened. "Speaking of Oobleck, I ran into him at… no wait, guess where we ran into each other."

"Coffee shop?"

"Fuck!" Jaune double-taked. "How did you guess that so quickly?"

"It's Oobleck, silly," smiled the redhead. "I can't imagine that man lurking anywhere else outside of Beacon."

"… Fair enough," Jaune grumbled. "Anyway, I told him how I was teaching at the local hunter's school. He was surprised, to say the least."

Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "To be fair, almost everyone you've told so far has had their jaws hit the floor at your announcement. The great huntsman Jaune Arc retiring from hunting at twenty-six? Nobody saw that one coming."

"Okay, no need to patronize me," Jaune laughed.

"I wasn't trying to, I swear!"

"Uh-huh." Jaune smiled at her. "The hunter's life is brutal. If I'm honest, I'm not sure how you and the rest of the gang still manage to put yourselves through it. I really respect that, y'know."

"Not all of the gang," reminded Pyrrha. "Remember, Ruby's not going to be able to do any more missions after that horrible injury she went through last October."

"Oh yeah," murmured Jaune remorsefully. "Poor Rubes."

"She's a strong girl. She'll figure something out." Pyrrha turned to face him. "Anyway, you were saying how you told Doctor Oobleck you were a professor now?"

"Right!" Jaune brightened once more. "I told him all that… and he told me that he could easily put in a good word for me to Ozpin back at Beacon."

"Wait…" Pyrrha's eyes widened. "So that means…"

"No, it doesn't mean anything yet. But Oobleck says he'll give me a call if anything turns up."

"Oh my goodness, Jaune!" Pyrrha squealed in delight. "You might be teaching at Beacon!"

The blonde laughed at her excitement. "Nothing's set in stone yet, Pyr."

"I know, I know," beamed Pyrrha. "Still, the prospect of you being able to work at a place where we made so many memories is very exciting to me."

"Yeah, it would be. I can just imagine those halls and those classrooms… man, that would definitely be a sight for sore eyes."

"Yes, yes! And the dorms, and the commons, and… oh my God." She leaned towards him with a rare devious flash in her eyes. "The roof, Jaune."

Jaune grinned. "The roof."

"Please promise me that the first thing you when you get that job is to sneak me on to the roof so we can spar, just like old times."

"_If, _Pyr, not _when._" Jaune chuckled. "Plus, it's been a while. I'm probably out of practice. You'd wipe the floor with me."

Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "Pleeeeeaaaase, Jaune?"

"… Sure," Jaune relented, albeit with a smile. "But if Goodwitch catches us, I'm blaming you."

The redhead smirked. "It'll be worth it. I promise."

* * *

They pulled up to the driveway at 10:30pm.

The one-story house was not extravagant, by any means. It was modest, but it was enough for Jaune and Pyrrha's humble lives. If they wanted to, they could most definitely purchase a more spacious and flashier property befitting of their reputation, but that was just not the lifestyle suited for the two.

They entered the house – and were greeted by a large, swiftly moving form.

"Oof!" grunted Jaune as fifty-five pounds of Atlesian husky pounced excitedly on the blonde, knocking him flat on his rear. "Geez, Hermes. Do you ever get _any_ less enthusiastic or are you just running on eleven all the damn time?"

Hermes barked happily in response.

Pyrrha chuckled as she knelt down to hug the dog, rubbing the back of his head in the process. "I think he wants to know if you'll ever be any _more_ enthusiastic. Ever."

Jaune shook his head. "Between the two of you, I just can't win, can I?"

"Nope," Pyrrha replied happily. Hermes barked in agreement.

"I figured as much," laughed Jaune, getting to his feet. "I'm gonna make some coffee. You want any?"

"No," Pyrrha yawned. "It's been a long day for me. I think I'm just going to shower and turn in. Catch up on some much-needed sleep."

"I'll bet." Jaune walked into the slightly outdated kitchen, with Hermes eagerly trotting after him. "Heard your last mission was a doozy."

Pyrrha smiled. "It was very rough. But it paid well, so all's well ends well, I suppose." She yawned again. "Oh my goodness, I think I might just fall asleep right here if I'm not careful."

"Go clean up and get some sleep, then. You deserve it." Jaune started the coffee maker. "I'll be up for a while reading through papers, if you need me."

"Okay." The redhead paused to watch Jaune pour an excessive amount of coffee grounds into the filter before heading to her side of the house. "I hope you don't start developing a dependence on coffee. I certainly do not want Doctor Oobleck as a roommate."

"Very funny. I think I'll act like him for a day just to fuck with you."

Pyrrha chuckled, already out of Jaune's sight. "Goodnight, Jaune."

"Lov-" He caught himself. "Goodnight, Pyrrha."

He listened for the door closing on the other end of the house. When it did, he subsequently smacked his head into the closest cupboard.

"Shit," he muttered quietly. "It's been six months. I gotta stop doing that."

Shaking his head, he checked the coffee brew and poured himself a hot, steaming mug. Looking down, he saw Hermes waiting patiently by his feet, staring at the blonde expectantly.

"Oh, you wanna hang out with me tonight? I thought you loved Pyrrha better." He patted the husky's head. "C'mon, then."

With the mug in hand, he grabbed the stack of papers from his shoulder bag with his other hand and headed towards the opposite end of the house. Hermes followed along happily.

* * *

**So the cat's out of the bag. Jaune and Pyrrha are separated and getting divorced.**

**Hermes the dog was a very last minute addition. It was the middle of the night, and my brain went, 'They should have a dog,' and I said, 'Okay, brain,' and thus, the husky popped into existence. He's already my favorite character. And for the record, it was Pyrrha who bought and named the dog.**

**If you've figured out what movie this is based on, it was a fantastic movie. If not, then at this point you won't figure it out. At least not until I decide to reveal it. Maybe.**

**But yeah... going forward, the fic will be sparsely updated. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this chapter - but I have no idea how to even start the next one. Decisions, decisions.**

**It also **_**actually**_** starts to get worse from here. Just so you get the disclaimer. This was a pretty vanilla chapter, if I do say so myself.**

**Reviews are always welcome.**

**Until then, you beautiful people!**


	3. Bro Date

**Hello, everyone!**

**Here's the next chapter for Friends, Again. Not much to be said, except that it's a lot of setting things up for failure. Oh boy...**

**Beta: Maxaro, as per usual.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Morning Jaune!"

"Morning Pyr."

It was near the end of their weekend, and 9 am Sunday found Jaune, still in pajamas, cooking up breakfast for two as Pyrrha strode out of her room, fully dressed in a business casual manner, along with her horn-rimmed glasses. An already happy Hermes brightened at Pyrrha's appearance, and he trotted over excitedly to the huntress, who knelt down to scratch the husky's ears.

"Coffee?" offered Jaune, sipping from his own mug.

The redhead peered up from pampering Hermes and looked at the mug with a frown. "I thought I told you not to get too hooked on coffee."

"Hey, I'm averaging just one cup a day," countered Jaune. "It's kind of necessary if you wanna be an efficient professor without falling asleep all the damn time."

Pyrrha sighed. "Whatever you say, Jaune."

The blonde motioned at her outfit with his spatula. "So, back to picking up the next mission report so soon?"

The redhead nodded. "Yes, but I don't think I have to leave for a few days. It was a nice little break while it lasted, but I really _do_ have to get back to work."

She pushed up her glasses with a single finger. "In any case, Blake also asked me if I was free, so I was thinking about hanging out with her today. I'm willing to guess she wants wedding advice. You're okay with me going… right?"

Jaune gave her a grin. "Sure thing! Ren's in town and I was gonna go pay him a visit, so you're fine."

Pyrrha smiled and spun on her heel, with Hermes following after her. "Great! I'll see you later, Jaune!"

"W-wait! What's the rush?" Jaune gestured towards the two plates of food that he was busily preparing. "Won't you at least stay for breakfast?"

Pyrrha blinked, checking the time, then smiled. "I suppose I've got some time."

Hermes barked his approval.

* * *

The Valean Hunters' HQ seemed somewhat empty today, which was no small feat in and of itself, considering that most Hunters that came through this building were quiet and disgruntled individuals in the first place. Nonetheless, business went on as usual, and the young male secretary on shift smiled at Pyrrha as she entered the building.

"Mrs. Arc! You're here for the job, right?"

Pyrrha winced at the name. _Maybe I should go and get the names change forms sooner rather than later_, she chided herself.

"Indeed I am! I believe Mr. Ithir is here to see me?" the redhead replied cheerily.

"Yes, I'll get him right away!" With that, the young man rushed into the back.

Pyrrha watched him run off before taking a seat in the small lobby area. The television mounted on the wall was turned to the news, and the huntress glanced briefly at the overly serious-looking reporter as she delivered the latest story.

"_Relations between humans and faunus are growing even stronger with the White Fang's disbanding and the rise of a more peaceful and diplomatic group who call themselves 'Ashes Savanna.' However, with the upcoming national meeting between Valean officials and the leaders of Ashes Savanna, analysts wonder: is this organization truly as peaceful as they seem to be or are they hiding an ulterior motive more in line with their predecessors?"_

The redhead scowled. She hated most of these so called "news networks." None of them had much integrity upon reporting actual news, and on very important world issues such as this, they usually put a political spin on their reports. To Pyrrha, it was just plain manipulative, and sometimes she wondered if the bigger enemies of the world were, in fact, right under their noses and feeding the masses with political propaganda.

"Ah, Mrs. Arc?"

Pyrrha looked up as a graying, rather scholarly-looking gentleman poked his head out of the doorway leading to the back. "Hello, Mr. Ithir," she smiled.

The old hunter smiled back. "Whenever you're ready, Mrs. Arc."

She stood up to follow him back to his office, which was only a few steps away. Ithir politely held the door open and pulled up a seat for the huntress, to which she graciously thanked him.

Ithir strode to his seat behind the cherry wood desk. "We _do_ have some important information to discuss with your next meeting. However, it has come to my attention that you are… no longer with Mr. Arc?"

"Uh, yes." Pyrrha shifted uneasily in her seat. The roughened leather exterior did not help to ease her discomfort. "We've been separate for six months now, and we'll probably be signing the divorce papers soon."

"That's unfortunate, my dear," uttered the old hunter. "I certainly thought your marriage was quite a solid and beautiful thing, or at least from what I saw of it. So… what would you prefer for me to address you as?"

"Miss Nikos is fine."

"Ah. Shall I document as such in your mission reports as well?"

Pyrrha hesitated, then with a small sigh, she nodded. "I suppose so."

"Very well. Again, my condolences." Ithir pulled up a rather bulky looking file, which made an audible _thud_ as it met the desk's surface. "Now to business, my dear. Your next mission is one of utmost importance, one which we thought you would be uniquely qualified for."

"Really…" murmured Pyrrha. "How so?"

Ithir pulled out the uppermost document from the file and handed it to her. "Well, this mission in particular is a political mission, as opposed to the usual of Grimm hunting and village saving. You will be attending the upcoming conference between Valean officials and Ashes Savanna. Not only will you be helping keep the peace and preventing any attempts to foil the proceedings, but you will be there to represent Vale's Hunters as well."

"Oh." Pyrrha read over the file's details. "Funny, there was a report on this same conference playing on the TV in your lobby. So I will need to be doing some talking, then?"

"Indeed, my dear," confirmed the old hunter. "Your old Team JNPR was quite well known for being a very diplomatic team, and I believe your experience as such will lend to the meeting exceptionally well."

"I see. What about Ren and Nora? Are they participating as well?"

Ithir shrugged. "Mr. Ren had been contacted, but he, in his own words, said that he 'was not the best at JNPR's talking jobs.' As for Ms. Valkyrie… she had her… eccentricities. We chose not to contact her."

Pyrrha sighed. _If only Jaune were still in the business. This was definitely more his forte than it was mine._

"Very well. Is there anything else I need to know about the mission?"

The old hunter nodded. "Just a few minor details. You will be assigned a partner who will also serve as a representative Hunter alongside you. His name is Caraway Du Lac, and although he may come off as a little brash and happy-go-lucky at times, he is a very reliable hunter as well as a born leader. Also, you have a few days to yourself, seeing as your departure is early Wednesday morning. All the other details will be found in the mission report, so please familiarize yourself with it before you leave. The file may look a tad bit daunting, but that's never stopped you before."

"I suppose not," Pyrrha smiled.

She decided not to tell Ithir that Jaune was usually the one to go over her bigger reports, whether she wanted him to or not. Even in separation, the poor blonde was perpetually worried about her.

"Will that be all, Mr. Ithir?"

"Indeed. You are dismissed."

* * *

Meanwhile, Jaune was currently wondering how Ren had managed to drag him into their current situation.

"Y'know… when I said 'bro date,' I was thinking lunch or working out or maybe even just the library, considering that it's you."

"Backhanded compliment much?" muttered the dark-haired hunter.

"Sorry," apologized Jaune. "But… I have to say that attending a painting class with wine never exactly crossed my mind on 'things I would end up doing today.'"

Ren smirked. "There's a first time for everything."

Jaune frowned. "I just… I don't get it. I'm in a class learning how to paint an apple. What's so fucking special about this apple that you need to have a thirty-person class on how to paint it?"

"It's not about the apple, Jaune," rebuked Ren quietly, attentively stroking his brush across the 24" by 34" canvas. "It's about creating depth around the apple using elements of shading, linear perspective, and chiaroscuro."

"Chia-what?"

Ren turned to him with narrowed eyes. "If you'd been paying attention to the class, you'd know what chiaroscuro is. Aren't you a teacher?"

Jaune groaned. "I get paid to teach, not to listen to other people teaching."

"Well, if that's the attitude you're gonna have about it, it's only fair for your students to do the same."

"I know, I know," sighed Jaune. "It's just… try as I might, I don't think I'll ever get painting. Like, don't get me wrong, the people who do this kinda stuff for a living are fucking geniuses, but it's just not for me."

"Give it at least until the end of the class," offered Ren. "Then you can tell me how much you hate painting. Imagine if you gave up when we were still at Beacon and you were still a novice fighter. Where would you be now?"

"Possibly exactly where I am now, seeing as my hunting career didn't quite pan out."

"Oh. Right. Well, then, how about we get back to painting then?"

Jaune snorted. "Sure. Depth on an apple. How hard can it be?"

They continued to paint (or at least for Jaune, attempt to paint) as the painting instructor continued to drone on about depth and perception and contrast and a few other things that went in Jaune's ear and out his other.

_Maybe I need to be drunker for this_, he thought to himself, draining the rest of the wine in his glass and filling it back up, right to the very tip.

Ren gave him an amused sideways glance. "Don't get too drunk. It's only 2pm, after all, and you've got work tomorrow."

"It's wine, how bad could it be?," scoffed Jaune. "Besides, unlike Pyrrha, I'm pretty good at handling my wine. You've seen how plastered she can get off of this stuff, right?"

"It _is_ an amusing sight, to say the least," agreed Ren with a chuckle. "How is she, by the way?"

"Pyrrha? Oh, she's fine. Same old Pyrrha, I guess."

"Hermes, too?

Jaune huffed. "Oh, let me tell you, that dog has gotten ten times as energetic since the last time you've seen him. He is a _handful_. Pyrrha loves him to death, though."

"Of course. You and Pyrrha are still living in the same house together, I take it?"

"Yup!" Jaune suddenly seemed more focused on the task at hand.

Ren sensed the change in his friend's demeanor. He began to test the waters. "Have you… even thought about seeing other people?"

"Oh, no, absolutely not," murmured Jaune. "I don't feel like I need to, anyway. I'm perfectly happy with just hanging out with Pyrrha and you guys and Team RWBY. I'm not really looking for anyone new."

"Jaune," Ren grew serious. "You and Pyrrha are getting divorced. It's not right to keep clinging on to her like that. When you guys are finally apart, you're going to need to start living your life and letting her live her own life."

Jaune frowned. "Well… we don't have to. We like hanging out with each other, after all."

"You sure?" Ren raised an eyebrow. "You sure she's not just hanging out with you because she thinks that's what you want? You know how Pyrrha is, better than any of us."

"Which is why we'll decide together what we want to do," retorted Jaune, his frustration beginning to show between his and Ren's repartee.

Ren took a more calm approach. "Look, all I'm saying is that it's called a 'separation' for a reason. You two _need_ a little space, and even though, yes, there's always that possibility of you two getting back together, maybe _think_ about trying to move on. If that doesn't work and you and Pyrrha end up reconciling, then all's well that ends well. But if she decides to move on, then you should respect that and be prepared to move on."

"Sure," Jaune conceded. "But all _I'm _saying is, maybe we're just fine with being friends, and maybe we don't need to move forward or backward. Maybe things are perfect the way they are, okay?"

"Fine, fine." Ren sat back to admire his work of art. "I'm not telling you what to do, I'm just giving you a little advice."

"I'm almost thirty, Ren," grumbled the blonde. "I thought I was past the advice phase of my life…"

"You're gonna get advice until you're six feet under," joked Ren. "There's always gonna be someone who thinks they know more than you or me."

Jaune sighed. "I suppose you're right."

"I try my best." Ren peeked at Jaune's own apple painting and shook his head. "And that looks terrible."

"It's a goddamn apple, what the fuck am I supposed to do?"

Ren chuckled at his friend's outburst. "Hey, out of curiosity… have you talked to Ruby recently?"

"No, I haven't. Why? Is she doing okay?" Jaune asked curiously.

"She's doing alright, considering her crippling war injuries. There's only so much you can do missing an arm and most of a lung, but she's managing pretty well. However, I think you should visit her every now and again, though," suggested the dark-haired hunter.

"Why me?" Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Not to be rude, or anything, of course."

"Well…" began Ren. "I'm sure you know she won't be able to go on missions anymore, and for someone who's dedicated their life to protecting the innocent, that is a hard pill to swallow. I'm willing to bet she could use a little company, and most everyone else is being sent on missions all the time, so I thought maybe you could take care of that."

Jaune sighed. "I haven't talked to Rubes in a very long time. I kinda miss that, to be perfectly honest."

"Which is why I think this would be a great idea." Ren set his brush down, finally satisfied with his painting. "And perhaps if you decide moving on is something you want to do… maybe Ruby will need someone to be there for her."

"Wait a minute…" The blonde's eyes narrowed. "Are we seriously talking about me seeing other people again? And _Ruby_, out of all people? She means a lot to me as friend, and I don't think she'd appreciate me ruining our friendship by trying to get with her."

"How do you know that?"

"Because… because it's Ruby! And because I don't want to get with anyone right now, so please stop trying to make me do that." Jaune remained adamant.

"Jaune, I'm not telling you to get with anyone," assured Ren. "I'm just telling you it wouldn't be a bad idea to try it with Ruby. Think about it, Jaune: neither of you are going on missions anymore, so you'd have the best chances at hashing out a relationship. You're both going through hard times right now, and having shoulder to lean on who knows what kind of pain you've experienced is something you could both use. Most of all, she's always been there for you, through your worst times and your best. I'm not going to bring it up because I know it's bad memories for you, but you know exactly which time I'm talking about. So I'm not telling you to do it immediately. I just want you to consider it, alright buddy?"

"Sure."

Ren frowned. He realized that Jaune had stopped listening to him at this point and was concentrating fully on the 'painting' before him.

"I'm just trying to look out for you. If you don't figure things out, I won't say 'I told you so.'" Ren sighed. "Hey, Nora's flying back in tomorrow and we were thinking about doing some charity work. You in?"

Jaune cocked his head in thought. "Sounds like fun. Can I bring Pyrrha along?"

The dark-haired hunter almost rolled his eyes in exasperation, but refrained from doing so. "Sure."

"Great!" Jaune grinned. "It'll be like the old team back together again!"

"Uh-huh." Ren took a glance at Jaune's painting. "You literally haven't done anything except add a little green leaf in the last twenty minutes."

"C'mon, you expected something better?"

"No… can't say that I did."

* * *

"So… this is the place you wanna get married?"

"What do you think?"

"An outdoor wedding…" Pyrrha grinned. "I like it."

Pyrrha and Blake stood in a very green and open clearing, with the smell of freshly cut grass floating through the air. A pristine-looking pond lay adjacent of the clearing, and small stone walkway led out to the secluded parking lot as well as the rest of the public park.

Blake held up a sketchbook with the mock-up of the wedding layout to Pyrrha. "So Yang was thinking we could put all these bouquets all along here, and we can set up the tables here…"

"What about here?" Pyrrha pointed. "The shade of the trees will beneficial at this angle, especially with the sun setting that way."

"I will note that," murmured Blake, jotting it down on the sketchbook. "Yang wanted our wedding colors to be black and yellow… am I just crazy, or is that super obnoxious?"

Pyrrha furrowed her brow. "Under maybe an indoor circumstance, it would work better, even if it's a little wild. But especially since we're outdoors, I think a more natural color scheme would work out here. What about… yellow and purple?"

She watched as the edges of Blake's lips turned upward. "I… I really like that. Thanks a lot!"

"Oh, anytime," beamed the redhead.

"Now I just need to convince Yang…" Blake murmured, before growing slightly more serious. "Can I talk to you about something personal?"

"Oh, sure!" Pyrrha nodded. "I understand weddings can be really stressful, anything you need –"

Blake cut her off. "It's about you and Jaune."

Pyrrha blinked and grew reserved. "O-oh. Well... what do you want to talk about?"

The cat faunus took a deep breath. "I didn't want to say anything Friday night, especially with Jaune there and Yang getting a little rowdy. But… she _is_ right, and I just need to say something about your living situation. I have to."

"Well," Pyrrha murmured. "Shoot, then."

"It's just… I think that still living with Jaune is a mistake."

"That seems a little harsh –"

"Please, Pyrrha. Hear me out on this one." Blake closed her sketchbook. "I mean, you're totally committed to going through with the divorce, right?"

"Yes. Why?"

Blake sighed. "I think you're unintentionally lying to Jaune by continuing to live with him. He probably still thinks that there's a chance he can repair your relationship."

"W-what?" Pyrrha shook the scenario out of her head. "Oh, no, I don't think that's the case. We're just still best friends, and we're perfectly comfortable with living together, even if we decide to move on. I'm sure he knows that."

"Knowing Jaune, I'm pretty sure doesn't." Blake shook her head. "I just don't get it. You two are best friends, and somehow you're not together. Yet you act like you are together. Why don't you two just… kiss and make up?"

"Blake... I know you mean well, but we agreed that this is the way to go for us." Pyrrha gave her a sad smile. "We're not the same people we were six years ago, and we just need… different things now. But we still love having each other around, so we're just housemates now. It works out, Blake, it really does."

"Pyrrha." The cat faunus's expression was pained. "You're going to break that poor man's heart. Be firm with him, Pyrrha. One of you should probably move out before someone makes a mistake."

"He'll be _fine_. I'll be fine. We'll all be fine." Pyrrha's assurance seemed resolute, but Blake shook her head in slight irritation.

"Alright. That's all I'll say about it, I promise," she conceded reluctantly.

Pyrrha smiled graciously. "Thanks Blake. I know you and Yang are worried about us, but trust me, we can handle ourselves."

Blake nodded slowly, and they made the walk back out of the clearing. "I sure hope so."

* * *

**Oh Arkos. How naive you are. You have no idea what's coming.**

**No lie, this chapter almost didn't come out today even though it's been ready because I am hungover as all hell. But a little bit of water and food seemed to do the trick, and thank goodness, too.**

**I guess I should once again plug Ten Little Hunters, which come back on March 10th. I actually have the next chapter finished already, but I'm gonna take this time to wrap up Infinite Playlist as well as write a few more chapters for TLH so that they're more than ready at the deadlines.**

**Reviews are always welcome.**

**Until next time!**


	4. Instructions Unclear - Shelved for Later

**Heya!**

**New chapter! Short intro! Shit gets real! You might hate me in a few minutes!**

**Beta: Maxaro, my partner in crime.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Jaune? Are you up?"

The following morning Pyrrha awoke early to go on a morning jog with Hermes. The weather was warm but not too warm, as the sun still hung heavily in the east, so the redheaded huntress dressed appropriately in a form-fitting sports tank top and running shorts.

This was not odd in its own regard, but the fact that Jaune was not up brewing coffee at this time set off warning bells in Pyrrha's head.

"Hello…? Jaune?" The huntress frowned as she checked the sink for any used coffee mugs to indicate if Jaune had been though the kitchen that morning.

Nothing.

She strode over towards Jaune's end of the house as Hermes followed along, whose slightly lessened enthusiasm mirrored Pyrrha's own grim mood. She found the blonde's door closed and gave a knock.

"Jaune? You in there?"

The redhead waited, but she received no response in return.

"Hey, wake up, you. Don't you have classes this morning?"

Still no response.

Pyrrha glanced down at the husky, who whimpered knowingly in return.

She sighed. "Alright, Jaune. If that's how you want to play it."

The redhead started to walk away from the door, toying with the idea of just going in anyway to check if the blonde was okay.

"I called in sick."

Pyrrha froze at the sound of Jaune's voice.

"Why? What's wrong, Jaune?"

Again, no answer.

She inhaled deeply and made the decision to barge in, swinging the door open.

Jaune lay on his back in bed, sheets and blankets scattered across his form. His eyes were wide open, staring blankly into the white ceiling above. Nothing seemed to be ailing him physically.

Hermes trotted quietly over to the bed, jumping onto the vacant spot next to the blonde and laying his head over Jaune's chest.

"You… you okay, Jaune?" asked Pyrrha, worriedly crossing her arms.

"I'm fine." The blonde's eyes remain distant. "It's just… Pyrrha, I saw their faces again today."

"Oh."

That definitely explained his utter lack of enthusiasm for today.

It had been two years since the incident that had caused Jaune to retire from hunting. Two years later and the weight of all those lives lost did not get much easier to bear. Of course, it didn't cripple him every single day of the week like it used to, which was an improvement, but it didn't hurt any less on the days that it did.

Pyrrha sat down on the bed next to Jaune and the dog. "Do you want to talk about it?"

The blonde sighed. "N-no. I just need some… time." Without looking away from the ceiling, he moved a hand to rub Hermes's head, and the husky whimpered in sympathy. "Don't let me slow you down."

The huntress paused, trying to think of anything to say to comfort her best friend. "Well… I'm going to go running right now, but if you need anything, I'll be home all day, okay?"

"Okay." His voice barely came out as a mumble.

"Great!" Pyrrha patted his leg gently and started to rise from the bed. "Oh, if you decide not to go to the charity thing with Ren and Nora… I think they would understand. Just holler and I'll give them a call."

Jaune managed a slight smile. "Thanks, Pyr."

"No problem! C'mon Hermes, let's go," Pyrrha beckoned.

The husky gave Jaune one last, longing look, before scampering off to jog with the redhead.

When he could no longer hear their footsteps, Jaune sighed and numbly grabbed the bottle of antidepressants that sat on his nightstand.

"Hopefully these pills kick in before that charity thingy later today," he murmured to himself.

* * *

"Jaune! Pyrrha! Over here!"

The huntress and the former huntsman entered the gigantic warehouse-looking building. Around two dozen volunteers scrambled around the mammoth building, setting up tables and preparing food. In the very back, the two spotted Nora, waving her hands to grab their attention.

"Just in time you guys!" grinned the exuberant huntress. "The faunus folk should be here in about fifteen or twenty minutes, so help me out with the plates and forks and whatever else!"

"Sure thing!" Jaune smiled and grabbed the boxes of plastic silverware and began stacking them in an orderly fashion.

Pyrrha grabbed her own fair share of plates. "How was the last mission, Nora?"

"Oh, it was kinda boring, actually," pouted the ginger. "Just the same ol' extermination mission. Smashing Grimm to bits is only fun the first ten thousand times."

"Really?" laughed Pyrrha. "I thought that was always 'your thing.'"

Nora shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I just need some bigger fish to fry now, none of that small Grimm anymore."

She waved her arms grandly and grinned. "I think when I retire that's what I'll do; I'm gonna hunt the biggest Grimm I can possibly find! Now _that's_ a lifestyle I could get behind. Speaking of retiring…" Nora turned to the blonde. "You holding up alright, Jauney? Pyrrha called and said you were down in the dumps again today."

Jaune offered her a thumbs-up. "I'm better now. Felt like shit earlier this morning though." He grinned. "But enough about me. What exactly are we setting up for? And where's Ren?"

"Right here."

The dark-haired hunter emerged from the cooking area holding a plate of very fresh pancakes.

"Heya, cutie-patooie!" Nora ran over and wrapped Ren in a giant bear hug, much to his alarm.

"NORA! The pancakes!"

"Eheh… sorry," grinned the ginger sheepishly, letting him go.

"_Please_ be more careful," muttered Ren, setting down the steaming-hot plate. "Anyway, to answer Jaune's question, we're going to be serving food to former faunus slaves from the old dust mines. They're still a recovering community, and this particular charity has been absolutely vital to helping these people get better treatment, better homes, better lives… if we can help push that along, than I'm all for it."

Pyrrha smiled at the explanation. "That definitely sounds like a great cause."

"Yup!" Jaune nodded in agreement. "Great idea having us all come out here."

"Well…" Ren gave a sly smile. "It wasn't exactly _my_ idea. Hey, Weiss?"

"Yes?" A fair and elegant white-haired lady ran up to the group. She wore an extraordinarily dirty apron, and her long hair was tied up in a tight bun to prevent any of it from getting in the way, all of which seemed highly uncharacteristic compared to her usual appearance. "Hello, everyone!"

The rest of the gang greeted the heiress, and Jaune gave her an amused grin. "Really, Snow Angel? Doing this charity event was _your_ idea? Not to mention getting your hands dirty with all the cooking?"

"Hey, I cook all the time!" Weiss huffed. "And Jaune, I'm twenty-eight years old, you think you could stop with the nicknames?"

The blonde grinned even wider. "'Fraid not."

"Fine," Weiss grumbled, before returning to a slightly sunnier disposition. "I suppose some things never change. But yes, it was indeed my idea. Being able to push the ban against indentured servitude for the Schnee Dust Company was big step in righting the wrongs that my forefathers have washed their hands in, but the more I can do to help these poor faunus people lives worth living, the better."

"You're doing some very good work, Snow Angel," agreed Jaune. "If she was here, Blake would be proud."

"Thanks, Jaune," beamed Weiss. "It's unfortunate she and Yang couldn't make it tonight. If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were planning a wedding or something…"

Jaune and Pyrrha shared a knowing look.

The redhead cleared her throat. "I'd imagine that being president of the Schnee Dust Company all the way in Atlas wouldn't allow you to be able to do charity work all the way down here in Vale."

"You'd be surprised," said Weiss. "My schedule _does_ leave room for the occasional charity event, and I certainly wouldn't miss one if it meant being able to see my old Beacon friends again!"

"Likewise," agreed Ren.

"Hear, hear!" chirped Nora.

"Thanks, everyone," Weiss smiled graciously. "In fact, I thought this event would be the perfect thing to bring along a certain… someone. I told her that she's been needing to get out a bit more."

"Oh, the irony! Usually it would be the other way around," called out a familiar girlish voice.

"RUBY!"

The gang gathered around the former huntress, who hadn't been seen by any of them (except Weiss) in months. She cheerfully went around and hugged each individual person warmly, and when she reached Jaune, the blond man inhaled sharply.

Ruby still had the same, youthful and friendly face that they had all grown to love, but the years had matured her and sharpened her features. Of course, the most notable difference that caught Jaune's eye was the mechanical steel hand that poked out from under Ruby's right sleeve. Her right cheek and neck had retained a bit of scarring as well, but the redhead's smile shone past her slight disfigurement.

And even with her scarring and injuries, Jaune thought she was as beautiful as she had ever been.

"So… you gonna say hi, or are you just gonna continue to stare at me?"

Jaune blinked at the grinning former huntress. "Sorry, Rubes," he chuckled, and wrapped in a heartfelt embrace. "It's been a while."

Ruby smiled and hugged back. "It has, hasn't it?"

They pulled apart, and Jaune gave her a sheepish smile. "Yeah. How've you been?"

"I've been alright," shrugged the redhead. "I mean, considering…"

A commotion suddenly broke out near the front of the building, and the volunteers began rushing towards their stations.

"Oh, that's our cue!" exclaimed Weiss. "Let's go, people!"

Ruby nodded, and glanced at Jaune. "Let's do the soup station together so we can catch up, too!"

Jaune nodded. "Sure thing!"

"Uh…" Pyrrha coughed nervously. "Should I come with you two?"

Weiss pulled her arm. "Sorry, Pyrrha, I'm going to need your help with drinks."

The huntress watched as Jaune and Ruby walked over to their stations with concern etched on her face before following Weiss to the drinks.

And as both parties departed, Ren and Nora shared a knowing glance.

"You think…?" Nora whispered.

Ren nodded. "Yeah."

* * *

Ruby cheerily handed the warm bowl of soup to the elderly stag faunus who hobbled before her. "Here you go, sir!"

The old man smiled. "Bless your heart, young'un!"

Jaune smiled fondly at the interaction as he scooped another bowl of soup. "You seem as eager as you've ever been."

"Well, I guess Weiss was right. It kinda helps getting out and about sometimes," admitted Ruby. "I'm still not used to… not going on missions anymore."

"Tell me about it," murmured Jaune, handing her the next bowl.

Ruby chuckled. "That's right, you're a professor now. I suddenly have the urge fall asleep when you talk now."

"Very funny."

"But seriously," Ruby grinned. "How is it?"

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "How's what?"

"Y'know," Ruby shrugged. "Teaching."

The blonde sighed. "It's hard work. I mean, it's bad enough to be doing the same lectures and grading the same papers with a bunch of kids who half of them don't even take my class seriously… yet they're supposed to be the future of hunters. They don't know how hellish that life is, and I'm worried that they won't know until it's too late."

Ruby smiled. "So they were kind of like us when we were kids at Beacon."

"Yeah, that's what worries me," murmured Jaune. "Life definitely did not throw the two of us a bone. I don't want them to see what I had to see. I don't want these kids to end up like… well, us. No offense."

"None taken," Ruby laughed. "We _did_ get the shorter end of the stick." Her tone grew more serious. "But these kids know what they signed up for, and while they're still kids, they deserve to live their childhoods. Who are we to take that away from them and feed them the nightmares of the world? That stuff came to us when we were ready, and it'll be the same for them. Those whose hearts are truly in it will take on the challenge, and those who aren't will end up in other places. You just have to be patient, Jaune, and don't give these kids too much to deal with at once. You'll be fine, I promise!"

Jaune hummed at her wisdom. For such a happy, childishly enthusiastic person, the former huntress's wisdom took him by surprise every now and again.

"You really think so?" Jaune wondered aloud.

"Well, yeah, I do," smirked Ruby. "But you should too. You're a born leader. You'll figure it out."

"Right…" Jaune nodded, eyes growing distant. "What about you? You've been okay since the… the accident?"

"Well…" Ruby's smile faltered ever so slightly. "I've been doing what I can. Exercising, catching up on the news, looking for jobs that I most likely will not get fired from…"

They shared a laugh as Jaune handed her another soup bowl. "Sounds like losing an arm and a lung didn't slow you down at all."

"I do my best," grinned Ruby. "It's still kind of a surreal thing to wake up to every morning. I keep forgetting where the hell my right arm went. I mean, don't get me wrong, having a mechanical arm is really cool, and I find all new things my arm can do every day, but the arm doesn't feel, and I get phantom pains every once in a while. I also can't do as much physical work as I used to since I've only got one lung now."

She turned to the blonde, smiling sadly. "The weirdest thing is realizing that I'm not able to go on missions anymore. Being a hunter was… something I saw myself doing for the rest of my life, and now that I can't do it anymore… it's been really hard figuring out what the hell I'm supposed to do."

Jaune looked at his friend. Even in adulthood, she was a very carefree individual, and seeing her unsure of herself for once pulled at his heartstrings.

"I'm sorry, Rubes-"

Ruby shook her head vigorously. "Nope!"

The blonde blinked. "What do you mean, 'nope?'"

"Nope!" The mirth returned in Ruby's smile. "The thing I want the least is for people to feel sorry for me. I had enough of that within the first month of losing an arm, and I certainly don't need that from you now. And hey, nobody died, right?"

_Nobody died, right?_

Jaune flinched visibly, as the screams filled his head again.

Ruby's eyes widened in realization at his reaction. "No… I'm… I'm sorry Jaune, I didn't mean to say that. That was really insensitive of me, Jaune… I..."

"It's okay, Rubes," Jaune tried to smile back. "You meant well. Don't worry about it." He steeled himself against the flashbacks. "But, I _am_ glad that you've been doing alright."

Ruby smiled again, visibly relieved. "It's a struggle sometimes. But we keep moving forward. We always do."

Jaune raised an eyebrow doubtfully. "You think?"

"I know." The redhead gave him a playful nudge. "Now c'mon, we've got some mouths to feed, so cheer up, okay?"

Her gusto was infectious, and Jaune couldn't help but feel the corners of his mouth turn upwards.

"Okay."

* * *

Pyrrha watched the two friends laughing happily and felt a pang in her gut.

She felt a nudge in her side. "Hey."

Turning, she found the heiress looking up at her in concern. "You okay? You look like someone stole Hermy or something to that effect."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "'Hermy?'"

"Your dog?" Weiss sighed dreamily. "You know, that cute little ball of fur with that wovable, wovable face –"

"He's not a pup anymore, Weiss."

"Oh really? How big is he now?"

"Probably as big as you are tall."

Weiss's eyes grew as big as saucers. "Oh my. Has it really been that long since I've seen you guys?"

"Don't fret, you've been reasonably busy," Pyrrha assured with a smile.

"That I have," groaned the heiress. "I _am_ very happy to see all of you again. Especially Ruby. It's good to see her out and about again."

"I suppose so…" Pyrrha trailed off as she turned back to Jaune and Ruby, who looked like the closest of friends again, even after so long.

Weiss observed her carefully. "You _sure_ you don't want to talk about anything?"

"I'm sure," the redhead answered, managing a smile.

"Fine," murmured the heiress, returned to tend the drinks. "If you say so."

* * *

The following afternoon, Jaune's Tuesday class closed slightly later than issue, with the last few stranglers desperately trying to bullshit their way through their exams. He shook his head disdainfully as the last kid lazily dropped his exam on the pile that sat by Jaune's feet, propped upon his desk.

"You gotta do better than that if you wanna pass this class, much less become a hunter, Brann," sighed the professor, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I'll do better," mumbled Brann, as he strolled out the door.

"You might wanna lay off the weed while you're at it," Jaune called after him. "I can smell it from a mile away."

Brann's face turned pale, and he bolted.

Jaune rolled his eyes and started packing up the exams before his scroll rang.

He pulled it out and recognized Pyrrha's number before answering. "Hey Pyr."

"_Hey Jaune! Where are you?"_

"I'm about to wrap up things here at the school. What do you need?" Jaune closed his shoulder bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"_Yeah! I finally opened up that bookshelf we bought a week ago. Problem is… I can't put it together for the life of me."_

"Alrighty. Hang tight, I'll be home in a bit."

"_Thanks Jaune. See you in a few!"_

"Bye."

* * *

"So why did you decide to do this now?" Jaune stared at the pile of wood pieces that lay before him. "Aren't you leaving tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah," murmured Pyrrha as she sat comfortably on the living room couch, swirling a glass of red wine in her right hand. "I had a whim."

Jaune raised an eyebrow at the glass of wine. "Really."

"Yup."

The blonde glanced cautiously around the house. "Hermes isn't gonna trample this thing or me while I'm working on it?"

"He's asleep in my room," smirked Pyrrha. "You'll be fine."

Jaune sighed and cracked his knuckles. "Alright. How hard can this be?"

* * *

"FUCK THIS BOOKSHELF!" Jaune kicked the remains of the shelf in a fit of rage as it collapsed once more before him.

"Tell me about it," giggled Pyrrha.

Jaune plopped down on the section of couch next to her. "I mean, usually I'd understand if you couldn't put something like this together, but this piece of shit is actually impossible to build."

"Thus, my plight every time I try putting together one of these things," noted Pyrrha, sipping from her glass. "Also the reason I keep you around."

"Well, glad I could help," muttered Jaune sarcastically.

They stared at the pile of wood for a moment.

"I have an idea," murmured Jaune. "Pour me a glass of wine, will you?"

* * *

Where a pile of wood once lay now stood a grotesque and very rudimentary-looking wood stick figure. Screws stuck out from every orifice, and the wood man looked like it would fall over at any second.

Meanwhile, bothe Jaune and Pyrrha sat side by side upon the couch, proudly observing their piece of "modern art."

"Perfect?" smirked Jaune, glass of wine in hand.

"Perfect," replied Pyrrha, who leaned against his shoulder.

They clinked their glasses in triumph.

"You think anyone ever finished building this thing the way it was supposed to be built?" murmured Jaune.

"There has to have been someone who managed it," responded Pyrrha, nuzzling deeper on his chest. "Someone with skill beyond either yours or mine."

"Those skill levels are at opposite ends of the spectrum, y'know," chuckled the blonde.

Pyrrah elbowed him. "Hush, you. Give yourself a little credit. You made… whatever that is over there."

"True," laughed Jaune, sipping from the wine. "It's kinda cute, actually."

"Yeah." Pyrrha laughed in return, turning to gaze at the blonde, with his brilliant blue eyes, the shock of blonde hair, and his warm, genuine smile…

"You know, you're pretty cute, too," murmured Pyrrha as she leaned in and kissed Jaune upon the lips.

She felt his hesitation for a brief moment before he fully reciprocated the kiss passionately.

They continued to press themselves against each other in growing desire, and Pyrrha began to push the blonde upon the couch, setting her and Jaune's empty glasses on the floor beside them.

She felt their clothes leave their bodies. She felt herself pressing against him as he pressed back. Their passion blossomed further and Pyrrha's skin tingled with contact.

It was pure pleasure. It was pure bliss. It was…

* * *

"It was a mistake."

Jaune frowned. "A… mistake?"

The morning sun shined upon them through the windows. Hermes awoke very early to find the two asleep upon the living room couch, embracing, and happily licked them awake.

Of course, the poor husky never expected that the two would wake up bickering.

"Yes, Jaune. It was a mistake," Pyrrha replied somberly.

Jaune withdrew himself from the redheaded huntress, and she shivered as his warmth left her body.

"You mean to tell me you called me home to help you build a bookshelf, fail miserably, and proceed to have sex with me just to call it a _mistake_?"

"Jaune, please," Pyrrha pleaded. "I wasn't thinking clearly. Honey, we're getting divorced. We… we shouldn't be… we shouldn't be…"

"No, that's all I need to hear," Jaune spoke shortly, rising from the couch to put his clothes back on.

"Jaune…"

"You obviously _weren't_ thinking clearly. Maybe if you did, you could've called the guy from the local home improvement center to build it for you. Who knows, maybe you could fuck him too…"

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled in horror. "That's not… why would you…"

"I don't know, why would you?" Without turning to look at her, Jaune walked briskly towards the front door.

"No, Jaune, don't leave…"

The door swung open and slammed shut in response.

Hermes jumped at the door slamming. He looked worriedly over at Pyrrha and trotted over to lay his head in her lap, whimpering uncertainly.

Pyrrha sighed dishearteningly and stroked the husky's head. "It'll be alright, Hermes. Jaune's not one to hold grudges. He'll come back, and we'll work it all out then."

_I hope._

* * *

Jaune knocked on the door.

Two minutes passed without a response.

Jaune sighed. Maybe it was just too early in the morning for this.

He knocked again.

After a moment, Jaune sighed and almost walked away before he heard the door creak open.

He turned back around.

Silver eyes stared back at him, with the sleep barely shaken off them. "Jaune…? What are you doing here?"

Jaune felt his shoulders slump. "Hey, Rubes. I… I'm having a… situation back home… and I kinda need a place to crash. I really don't want to bother you or anything… but I was wondering if maybe you'd be okay with me staying with you for a while?"

Ruby rubbed her eyes with her human hand, concern written on her face. "You and Pyrrha have a falling out?"

The blonde seemed to shrink upon himself. "Yeah… you could say that."

The former huntress offered him a reassuring smile. "Well, come on in, then. Want any coffee? I was about to make some anyway."

"Sure." Jaune trudged in heavily. "Coffee sounds nice."

* * *

**So... that was **_**rough**_**.**

**Here we have it - the point where everything begins to change, as well as the biggest dent in Jaune and Pyrrha's relationship thus far. It hurts, but it must be written. We all deserve our closure, after all.**

**Reviews are welcome, as always, especially with this chapter. I wanna know if I hurt you enough.**

**Until next time... if I don't get killed by the Arkos shippers.**


	5. Morning After

**Hello, all!**

**It's been a while since I uploaded a chapter for this fic. It's a lot of setup, so I apologize if you were expecting more Arkos destruction today.**

**Apparently this is the longest chapter I've ever written, clocking in at over 5000 words. I'm on fire, son.**

**Beta: Maxaro. Why garlic sauce...? Who the hell uses garlic sauce? Why couldn't it be something simple like salad dressing? Resurrection's already a touch-n-go business as it is...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The morning was hard for Pyrrha.

It was marginally improved with the fact that she had to finish packing quickly, what with her flight to a fort just outside Vale's capital (which, surprisingly enough, was not the city of Vale itself). The packing partially took her mind off of the quarrel she had just had with Jaune, but the memory was still extremely fresh, and all that Pyrrha could think about was trying to contact her estranged spouse.

Several circumstances kept her from doing so, however.

One, it would probably be a bad idea, considering that their argument had happened not even an hour ago that morning. Engaging Jaune right now would probably have been a rash decision, as she knew that she wasn't in her own right of mind, and Jaune definitely wasn't in his.

Two… she'd already tried to call him. Needless to say, the blonde wasn't answering his scroll.

Three was the biggest obstacle; her flight left in an hour, and she needed to depart for the airport immediately.

Zipping up her one and only carry-on (Pyrrha packed light – usually only the essentials and a few extra clothes) she soberly glanced at the Atlesian husky that stared expectantly at her. There wasn't really anyone she could leave Hermes with at this short of notice, and she wasn't certain that Jaune would be coming back anytime soon, even though he knew that the redhead was leaving today.

"Well, I suppose Ruby took Zwei on missions all the time," she smiled weakly. "You wanna come along, Hermes?"

The dog panted and cocked his head.

Despite her sour mood, Pyrrha chuckled in spite of herself. "It's not like either of us have any say in the matter," she murmured, ruffling Hermes's head. "C'mon boy. Time for you to see some action."

Of course, upon uttering that, she remembered acutely what her mission was. "Or maybe not…"

With a heavy sigh, she pulled on her trademark Spartan armor. It had not seen much change over the years; maintenance and upgrades brought reinforced armor and more flexibility, as well as additional plates to her arm armor, but aesthetically it remained extremely similar to the armor she had worn since her years at Beacon.

Which was a becoming more and more of a bitter memory the more she brooded over it.

Shaking the thoughts from her head in a dispirited manner, she trudged out the front door, and the husky followed behind her.

It was going to be a very long day for the huntress.

* * *

"Good morning, Mrs. Arc!" greeted the airship's overly exuberant flight attendant.

Pyrrha glared at the cheery young man. "I thought my name was changed in the last report log. It's Nikos," she snapped.

"Oh… uh, my apologies, ma'am," stuttered the attendant, losing his jovial demeanor and shrinking back slightly.

Immediately Pyrrha felt bad, and she heaved a deep sigh. "I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I've just been having a terrible morning."

"Uh… okay. Again, my apologies." The attendant hastily returned to his cheerier self. "Is there anything I can do to make your flight more pleasant? Perhaps for the dog?"

"Don't worry about it." Pyrrha attempted to smile. "I just can't help but wonder… I'm only one person. Why bring in a whole airship instead of the regular bullheads?"

"Well, someone of your status certainly deserves the best, Mrs. A- I mean, Ms. Nikos," responded the attendant merrily.

_Always with the pampering,_ Pyrrha thought sourly as she boarded the airship. _Can't anyone treat me like a normal fucking person for once? Like Jaune did…?_

She immediately stopped that train of thought in its tracks. _Dammit._

"Ms. Nikos?"

Pyrrha shook herself out her daze. "Yes?"

Hermes whined at her feet, and behind her, the attendant looked at her worriedly. "You just stopped walking. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," insisted the huntress, and she briskly took her seat by the window.

"Well, I'll be nearby if you need me, so feel free to call out!" offered the young man.

"Sure," Pyrrha replied shortly. _Please just leave me alone._

The attendant was nice, no doubt, but his overbearing cheerfulness had long worn out its welcome.

She stared after the young man as he walked off, and as he disappeared from the sitting area, Pyrrha gave a sigh of relief and stared out the all-encompassing window, the din of rampant thoughts slowly drowning out as she preoccupied her eyes with the view that the airship provided.

The airship took off promptly, and she wasn't sure how much time had passed before she was jolted out of her trance by another overly happy flight attendant. "Good morning, Ms. Nikos!"

Pyrrha stared in irritation at the young lady. _Where do these people keep coming from!? How many people do they think they need to accommodate for me!?_

It took everything in her power not to answer irately. "What do you want?" she muttered darkly.

"Would you like anything to drink?" The attendant smiled. "We've stocked up on our selections of wine this fine Wednesday morning. Perhaps a nice glass of pinot noir?"

Pyrrha squinted at the lady. "Alcohol? This early in the day?"

The attendant shrugged, almost in an embarrassed manner. "You'd be surprised, Ms. Nikos. We've had plenty of passengers who've abused the alcohol privileges before we've even taken off. Needless to say, they were not the most pleasant of customers."

Pyrrha nodded, seriously considering wine. It seemed very appealing to drown her sorrow, especially to forget the day's earlier events…

She physically slapped herself. That was a bad route to go; that last time she'd dabbled in wine, things had ended very badly, as was apparent now.

More importantly, this was a business trip. It was in her best interests to remain professional, despite the gnawing feeling of misery that attacked her conscience mercilessly.

"I'll have the chamomile tea instead, thank you very much," Pyrrha responded to the attendant, who seemed very concerned for some reason.

Oh right. She'd slapped herself seemingly for no reason. Whoops.

"R-right away, Ms. Nikos," answered the attendant uneasily, and she left to fetch the tea, looking over her shoulder as if she was expecting the huntress to transform into some mystical werebeast the moment she looked away.

Pyrrha sighed for the umpteenth time that morning. She already had enough to worry about without the flight attendants thinking that she was crazy.

* * *

It was two hours before the airship landed, although it seemed agonizingly longer to the redheaded huntress.

Within that time, she had drifted in and out of fitful sleep. She wasn't necessarily tired or sleepy, per se; rather, it was something to do as opposed to mulling over her argument with Jaune, which was apparently the only thing that she could think about while awake.

She stared at her feet, where Hermes was snoring peacefully.

Much to her own chagrin, she was jealous of the husky for being able to sleep so easily.

Gradually shaking the drowsiness off of her, she rose to her feet and made her way towards the exit of the airship. Hermes woke at the slightest movement and pranced after her, his tail wagging behind him.

"We hope you had a wonderful flight!"

Pyrrha jumped at the two flight attendants' appearance, both of whom seemingly appeared from out of nowhere. "Uh, yeah… thanks," she mumbled, immediately conscious of her own morning breath. She gave them a grateful nod, which, at this point in her waking-up process, was just her slumping her head forward in a lackadaisical manner.

As badly as she felt for thinking so, she somewhat hoped that she wouldn't be seeing those two again.

The door of the airship opened, and the sun beat down heavily from above. Pyrrha's eyes watered at the sheer brightness, and she lifted an arm to ease her vision as she walked from the plane to the fort that would be providing her housing for the next few days.

Ft. Soap was designed with many things in mind. Its first and foremost function was to protect the inhabitants inside safe from any outside forces; in that sense, it sort of reminded Pyrrha of Beacon. The fort's second function was as a place of council, a place for officials to meet and discuss politics, economics, and social issues that needed to be addressed. It had once been used as a key point of defense for Vale during the wars of old, but its military designation had since been retired, and it now stood as a major building of Valean government.

Another young woman in military uniform (her nametag identified her as "Lt. Ashera") greeted Pyrrha at the lobby of the fortress and offered to show the redhead to her room. Pyrrha graciously accepted.

The room assigned to her resided on the first floor of the building, as were most of the other hunter quarters (they usually were placed so strategically. If the building was breached, the hunters and military personnel served as the fortresses remaining line of defense). It was comfortably spacious, had a TV, one bed, a small kitchen, a closet, and a workable bathroom. The room had no windows, providing no view of the outside world, but Pyrrha didn't mind.

In fact, the room was very much to her liking.

As Hermes curiously ventured in to explore the unfamiliar space, the huntress placed her luggage at the foot of the closet and immediately went to the bathroom to freshen up and brush her teeth.

"I've placed your detailed schedule on your bed, Ms. Nikos," the lieutenant called out. "Remember the meetings don't start until tomorrow morning, so feel free to settle in and get acquainted with other officials here for the conference. There's also a gym on the second floor and a cafeteria in the central area of the first, all for your convenience."

"Mmmm," garbled Pyrrha through a mouthful of toothpaste. She rinsed out her mouth quickly. "Thank you, lieutenant."

Ashera saluted the huntress. "The pleasure is mine, ma'am." And she marched off.

Pyrrha proceeded to wash her face. "The gym sounds like a great idea right about now," she murmured to herself. "I can always meet the higher-ups later this afternoon."

Stripping out of her Spartan armor, she packed the essentials and her weapons away in a duffel bag and pulled on sweatpants and a sports bra, as well as a clean towel, which she flung over her shoulder.

She turned towards Hermes. "You be good while I'm gone, okay?"

The dog panted happily in response.

"Good boy." Pyrrha ruffled the dog's head and promptly left the room, with hope that a workout would keep her distracted from real life.

* * *

Like the locker rooms at Beacon, the second floor gym locker room was co-ed and exclusively for hunter use only. If you wanted to change, there were dressing rooms and gender-separated showers near the back that provided for sufficient decency between the sexes. Hunters also maintained high moral standards; although such a locker room arrangement was more likely for any… transgressions to occur, the hunters usually refrained from such activity, and for the one anomaly filthy enough to harass a fellow hunter, such transgressions usually were met with a beat down provided by either the "victim" or the fellow hunters around them, so the locker room usually functioned without problems.

Pyrrha trudged towards her locker, slightly sore from the eight-mile run she went on as her warm-up. Entering in the locker's code, Pyrrha pulled out her weapons and armor, as well as a water bottle and a towel. All of the combat simulation rooms were empty, and the huntress had every intention to knock the living snot out of a few robot dummies.

Taking a greedy swig from her bottle, Pyrrha sighed and shut her locker door…

… and caught sight of the tall, tan-skinned man that leaned against the locker directly adjacent of her locker, squinting at the redheaded huntress curiously.

"YAAAAAAAARGGGHHH!"

Pyrrha jumped back, fumbling Milo in her main hand. "What the fuck are you doing!?"

The man rolled his eyes. "Good lord, calm down, lady. I was sizing you up, that's all."

Pyrrha glared at her unwanted visitor in neon blue-and-yellow workout clothes. He was obviously very physically fit and had the body of a swimmer. His face was angular and fostered a five o'clock shadow. His hair was long, brown, and wavy, and was currently pulled up in a small man bun. His dark brown eyes seemed very disinterested in Pyrrha, but the playful smirk of his face suggested otherwise.

"Sizing me up?" Pyrrha narrowed her eyes. "What exactly is _that_ supposed to mean?"

The brown-haired man ignored her question. Instead, he lazily shifted his weight to the other foot. "You're Pyrrha Nikos, right?"

Pyrrha gripped Milo tighter. "So what if I am?"

"I've heard stories about you, y'know," shrugged the man, leaning his weight against the lockers. "But that's all they are to me. Stories. I figured, if we're going to be working together, I might as well get to know you for myself."

"'Working together?'" Pyrrha wondered aloud. "Is your name Caraway Du Lac, by any chance?"

The man grinned. "In the flesh," he replied, bowing in a very grand fashion.

Pyrrha sighed. The man's arrogance was slowly getting on her nerves.

"So what say you?" prodded Caraway. "How 'bout you and I have ourselves a little spar?"

As much as she didn't initially like the man, she forced herself to consider his offer. She was about to go spar as they spoke, and at least with the other huntsman, it would definitely save her the trouble of having to fight a bunch of mediocre robots that put up very little of a challenge.

Pyrrha hmphed. "I accept your offer," she replied curtly. "But don't expect me to go easy on you."

"I'd be sorely disappointed if you did," grinned the huntsman.

* * *

A few minutes later, they circled each other on one of the vacant training rooms. Pyrrha led with Akouo in front of her and Milo behind her, poised to strike.

Caraway's combat outfit starkly contrasted his bright workout gear. He wore a simple black tunic covered by a brown long coat, unbuttoned but held together by three black straps across his chest and abdomen. His forearms were protected by silver fingerless gauntlets, with the athletic tape showing from underneath them. He wore dark green pants with combat boots, protected by silver greaves made in the same style as the gauntlets. Not much other armor surrounded his body, save the few small plates that were sewn on to the coat's shoulders. An intricate-looking blue cube hung from his belt.

Pyrrha continued to circle warily. "Do you seriously plan on fighting me without a weapon?"

"Absolutely," smirked Caraway. "But trust me, my weapon is right where it need to be."

And before Pyrrha could protest, the huntsman bolted forward.

She met his fists with her shield, keeping herself handily protected amidst the flurry of methodic punches from the huntsman, all the while looking for an opening.

Before long, she found her opening with ease.

With a deflection of her shield, she used the momentum to thrust Milo forward as Caraway opened himself up.

Smirking, Caraway brought his other hand towards the cube at his waist and tossed it at the oncoming spear.

Pyrrha blinked in surprise as the cube's deceptive weight packed enough punch to throw off Milo's strike.

"And now _you're_ open," smiled Caraway, and he punched her square in the solar plexus.

The move had taken her completely off-guard, and Pyrrha suddenly found herself lying on her back, with the wind knocked out of her.

"You okay over there?" laughed Caraway, although a hint of genuine concern came through with his laugh.

"I'm… fine…" gritting her teeth, Pyrrha forced herself to stand up. A quick glance at her scroll revealed that her aura levels had almost dropped to yellow.

_Shit._

With a roar, Pyrrha went on the offensive, and Caraway matched her blow for blow with his armored fists.

For the next ten minutes, neither gave the other any leeway. Pyrrha occasionally found and opening, and Caraway would successfully deflect it with the cube while pushing his own attack, and vice-versa. The huntress grudgingly admitted to herself that Caraway was, indeed, a worthy opponent, even without his weapon – or was it that blasted cube?

The finally broke apart, both breathing heavily.

"Ready to give in?" teased the huntsman, spreading his arms grandly.

"In your dreams," retorted Pyrrha, silently questioning Caraway's gesture. Was a huntsman of his caliber really being_ that_ careless by leaving himself so stupidly open? Or was he daring her to attack him, hiding even more tricks up his sleeve?

Pyrrha decided to take her chances and blurred forward, with Milo closing in on Caraway's right lung.

She saw him smirk and immediately knew it was a mistake.

Caraway's right hand lowered slightly, the cube already in hand. With one swift motion, he tossed it upwards – and she saw it opening. It happened faster than the untrained eye could see, but Pyrrha made out two prongs of a crossguard first, then a two-handed hilt, and lastly the large, five-inch-thick blade with a sturdy central cylindrical support extending in sections that rapidly came down upon her weapon - and her head.

It took every burning muscle to push herself in a different direction. The zweihander's descent would not only have stopped Milo's attack cold in its track, but also would have crushed Pyrrha and depleted what aura she had left.

She felt her right ankle twist and winced in pain as she tucked and rolled away from the large blade, which collided with the ground a few inches from where Pyrrha currently lay.

Steadily rising to her feet, she limped backwards swiftly, hiding the limp as best as she could.

Caraway lifted the zweihander from its resting spot with both hands and wiped his brow with his shoulder. "Damn. Thought I had you there."

It was Pyrrha's turn to smirk, although it was very much a bluff, given her current condition. "Not quite."

She charged again.

Caraway met Pyrrha's blows with surprising grace, and their flurry continued for a while.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Pyrrha found another opening. But instead of using her spear to strike, she bashed Caraway's chest with her shield.

He let out an audible "Oomph!" and Pyrrha took advantage of his surprise to land a finishing blow.

She stopped short as she saw his weapon transform again.

The hilt bent in the middle, forming an L-shaped handle, while the blade retracted into the support, and the support retracted into it as well until only a foot of the support protruded out of the cube body as a nozzle. The part of the crossguard that protruded opposite of the L-shaped handle lowered against the nozzle - and spewed a small flare.

Pyrrha's eyes widened as she once again hastened a retreat before the space before her was engulfed in flames.

"Is there anything that your weapon _doesn't_ do?" snarled Pyrrha, thoroughly annoyed.

"It can't brew beer, which is unfortunate," admitted Caraway with a completely serious expression.

"You fucker," growled Pyrrha, and she transformed her own weapon to its rifle form and fired a barrage of shots at the huntsman.

He retaliated with a wave of flame that chased after Pyrrha as she forced herself to go on the move, despite the jolts of pain shooting up her right leg.

Before long the inferno engulfed everything in sight, and Caraway stopped to reload his fire dust charges. The flames cleared, and he noticed something very off about the scene in front of him.

Pyrrha was there alright, down on one knee, panting heavily, and doing her best to ward of the surrounding flames.

Her shield, however, was gone.

Pyrrha grinned, a wicked glint in her eye, and she lifted her unarmed left hand.

Caraway blinked momentarily before the shield rammed into the back of his head, knocking him off his feet.

As the shield magnetically flew towards its owner, Pyrrha dashed towards Caraway, using Milo to easily disarm the stunned huntsman and rammed her shoulder into him, knocking him back the other way.

Caraway landed flat on his back and looked up to find Pyrrha's heel against his chest and Milo against his neck.

"Uh…" he groaned. "I yield."

* * *

"Goddamn, the stories don't lie," muttered Caraway as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You're not too shabby yourself," replied Pyrrha, taking a swig of water. "A little cheap, maybe, but formidable nonetheless."

The two sat slumped against the wall of the otherwise empty locker room, changed into their workout clothes. Both were exhausted and sore all over, but it was a good hurt, especially since it kept the thought of Jaune far from Pyrrha's woozy mind for the moment.

"Cheap!?" Caraway feigned outrage. "How dare you, Alondite is a gem! Besides, your weapon has multiple forms, too, _and_ you have a shield. I think I'm the one at a disadvantage here."

"Yes, but you've got a weapon that's a zweihander _and_ a flamethrower. Just say that out loud. That sounds very flashy, like you're compensation for something," teased Pyrrha.

"You hurt my pride, ma'am," laughed the huntsman. "How's your foot doing?"

Pyrrha glanced down. Her right ankle had swollen considerably, but as far as she could tell, nothing was broken. "It'll be alright."

"Well, I'm sorry about that," offered Caraway. "I honestly didn't know you got that badly hurt for the whole of the round! You hid it pretty well."

"I've had worse," Pyrrha smirked in a rare show of pride.

"I find it hard to believe that anyone could've laid a finger on someone with your expertise," chuckled the huntsman.

"I could say the same for you."

"Alright, don't patronize me," laughed Caraway. "You wiped the floor with me, fair and square."

Pyrrha laughed.

They sat there in silence for a while, basking in the air conditioning.

Caraway finished his water bottle and crumpled it up in between his fingers. "Welp. You got anything planned for tonight?"

With a snort, Pyrrha replied, "It's only 1pm, you know. In any case, I'm going to shower up, grab something to eat, and meet with some of the delegates we'll be working with. I suggest you do the same."

"Well…" Caraway smirked. "Maybe we could do all that stuff together? Minus the showering part, of course. And afterwards… I know there's not a lot else to do here, but I hear they've got a basketball court if you wanna play, or… ooh! They've got a movie room! I forgot about that. I hear they're playing 'The Grand Mantle Hotel' directed by Nes Manderson. _Love_ his movies."

Pyrrha gave him a sideways glance. "Are you… actually asking me out on a date? On a business trip?"

Caraway shrugged. "Doesn't have to be a date."

Pyrrha sighed, growing depressed as the suppressed memories from earlier that morning rose to the surface once more. "Caraway… I'm getting divorced."

"O-_oh_." Caraway's eyes widened. "Shit, I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"It's alright," Pyrrha assured him, albeit weakly.

The huntsman noticed this. "Well, the offer's still up, if you need to get you mind off of things, especially if you need a drinking buddy. And, well…" Caraway gave her a friendly smile. "If, at some point in the future you'd like to get back into the dating game, feel free to hit me up."

Pyrrha shifted into a more comfortable position, still slightly wary of Caraway's advances. "You're very bold, you know that?"

"I've been told," grinned Caraway.

Pyrrha shook her head. "Well, I trust that you know I'm not in any such position to be dating again anytime soon. I just don't have it in me…"

"Understandable."

"But…" A mischievous twinkle gleamed in her eye. "Theoretically, if I were to get back into the 'dating game,' as you fondly refer to it, and I were to date you… lose the man bun. It looks fucking ridiculous."

Pyrrha almost laughed aloud as she saw Caraway's face sink dramatically. "But… do you know how long I've been growing this out…?"

"It still looks just as ridiculous," smirked Pyrrha. "In any case, I should go clean up and meet the delegates. Might as well get around to making a good first impression before I make a fool of myself at the conference."

"You kidding?" laughed the huntsman. "I'm pumped to be getting on with these talks!"

"Really?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow.

"Oh please, how inept do you think I am?"

Pyrrha snickered in response. "You _did_ come off as an arrogant prick when I first met you."

"And _you_ came off as cold and unfriendly."

"For reasons."

"Excuses, excuses." The huntsman rolled his eyes and jumped to his feet. "In all seriousness, we could be ushering in a new era of peace between the humans and faunus with this conference as our first step!" Caraway looked legitimately excited. "Does that not pique your interest?"

Pyrrha chuckled. "I can't say that it doesn't. I'm just atrocious at public speaking, that's all."

"Oh really?" It was Caraway's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Don't you worry bout that. I'm sure you'll be fine, but if worse comes to worst, I got your back," the huntsman winked.

"Thanks," laughed Pyrrha before slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm _actually_ going to enjoy myself a nice, warm shower."

"Alrighty," Caraway grinned. "See you at lunch?"

Pyrrha paused for a moment, then smiled back at him. "Sure. That sounds grand… but only as friends and colleagues. Got it?"

The huntsman shot her a thumbs-up. "Friends and colleagues. You got it!"

She laughed and exited the gym feeling a lot better about things than when she had entered it.

Maybe with Caraway as her partner, this mission wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

"I should go."

Ruby frowned. "Don't be silly, Jaune."

It was late in the evening, and Jaune and Ruby had just finished a meager meal that Ruby had insisted on cooking for the both of them.

Jaune's mind wandered in and out of reality. He had insisted on going to his teaching job that day to see if it would take his mind off of things (against Ruby's protests), but it somehow only served to make his mood worse.

Coming back to Ruby's, he had found her sitting in the kitchen waiting expectantly for him, as if she had been there since he left that morning. Ruby's mood lightened considerably at Jaune's appearance, and she immediately set to cooking dinner as soon as he arrived (against Jaune's protests).

Few words were actually exchanged between the two until now, with Jaune's sudden statement.

"Look," Jaune sighed. "I feel like I've overstayed my welcome. Besides, Pyrrha's gone, and I should go back and figure out what to do…"

"Jaune," Ruby chastised. "I don't mind you staying here. I really don't; in fact, I enjoy your company –"

"But you don't need me burdening you!" insisted Jaune. "I'm sorry, I came her and just laid all my shit on you. You've enough to worry about without me being a burden to you."

"What does that mean, 'I've got enough to worry about?'" Ruby growled, miffed. "Stop talking about my disabilities like they're crutches, because they're not. I don't treat them like crutches, so neither should you."

"I-I… sorry." Jaune slumped his head in his right arm, which leaned propped against the table. "I didn't mean to. You just… you just shouldn't have to worry about my bullshit."

"Jaune, stop." Ruby said sternly. "I'm worried about you, and Remnant be damned if you think you can stop me from doing so." Her expression became softer, and her voice more gentle. "Look, I really want to help you out. You don't have to do go through your problems alone."

"It's better that way!" Jaune replied, raising his voice. "I've already hurt Pyrrha, the dumbass that I am, and I don't need you to get hurt because of me, too!"

"You're not a dumbass for hurting Pyrrha, you're a dumbass for not being smart enough to accept your shortcomings as they are and just fucking ask for help!" Ruby yelled at him, standing up from her seat at the table.

Her intensity succeeded in shutting the blonde up promptly, and Jaune slumped back in his seat gloomily.

Ruby sighed. "The people with the strongest virtues know when to admit that they need help, or when they've fucked up. Jaune, I know you've faced these kinds of situations before, but you're so goddamn stubborn! Please, I really want to help you. These last few years have been the roughest years of your life, and… and I know what it's like to have your life practically ripped away from you."

With a start, she realized that her eyes were tearing up, and Ruby wiped at them with her human hand.

"It really hurts me to see you in pain, Jaune. You don't have to do this alone. I tried, Jaune, I tried... I tried to be bigger than me, to see the good when all I could see was the bad, but… it's been so fucking hard. I've had times after I lost my arm when I was just an emotional train wreck and I needed someone to be there for me, but I didn't ever have that. I tried to smile, Jaune… it's so hard."

Ruby bit her lip. "Maybe call me selfish… but I really want you to stay. It gets awful lonely in our shoes, I know. Please. Let's help each other. I want you to be okay, and being alone with yourself when you don't fucking know what the hell you're supposed to do can eat at you, to the point where you want to kill yourself, and I don't want that to happen to you."

She looked down at her feet. "God knows it almost happened to me…"

Jaune stared at the former huntress as she practically spilled herself to Jaune.

Past the cheerfulness that Ruby consistently maintained, a well of insecurity and hopelessness ate away at the former huntress, and it killed Jaune to see his friend in such a state.

No words came to him that seemed fitting to say, so he just walked over to the somber Ruby from where she sat.

She looked up at him with teary eyes, and Jaune couldn't stop himself from embracing her tightly.

The former huntress was surprised at the gesture at first, but she let the tension in her shoulders go, rising up to meet Jaune and embrace him back. She rested her face against his shoulder, and they held each other close, cherishing what little comfort they could scrap together.

Ruby heard her friend exhale deeply, and the soft voice that came afterwards. "I won't leave, Ruby. Not if you want me to stay."

She smiled, sniffing.

"I won't leave you either. I promise."

* * *

**First of all, I'd like to address the naming of Ft. Soap. Seems like an unorthodox name for a fort, I know, but I deliberately named it as such in dedication to a friend on the subreddit, who currently fights for his life in the hospital. I know this seems selfish, but I don't think I'll be able to emotionally handle losing another member of the community so soon. Please, get well soon, Soap.**

**That's really all I wanted to say for now. Some major plot points are on the way.**

**Reviews, as always, are welcome and encouraged.**

**Love ya'll!**


	6. Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down

**GUESS WHO'S BACK!**

**Uh... me. That's whose... nevermind.**

**Anyways, this chapter was initially going to be a continuation of Pyrrha's mission with that one OC that everyone's probably forgotten at this point. But I keep getting people who ask me what happened in Jaune's past that made him so... broken. So I figured, it would actually be a good idea to touch on that and give people the context they were looking for. Truthfully enough, this chapter would've been needed sooner or later.**

**There's some pretty violent stuff in here. Probably too violent for a T rating... oh boy. So heads up if you get queasy easily.**

**Beta: Maxaro. I ACTUALLY DIDN'T MAKE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BOOK SERIES UNTIL YOU TOLD ME! So that totally wasn't intentional... or, uh, yeah, _it was all part of my evil plan to mess with you... oooooooooo..._**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Two years ago…**_

_Sweat dripped down Jaune's brow as he sprinted down the wooded trail, a small group of hunters following closely behind him._

_Actually, that wasn't completely correct. Some of the fluid that covered his face was indeed sweat. The rest of it was blood._

_And, much to his own horror, he could recall exactly whose blood it was and the gruesome manner in which it had gotten there._

_The group ran on and on until they could run no more. Of the six hunters, two of them had collapsed on the ground, desperately hacking and gasping for air. Jaune had run over to grab the nearest one to help her into a sitting position._

"_Jaune… I'm… I'll be… fine… don't worry about me…" she managed in between greedy gulps of air. Her wavy blue hair remained plastered to her face which contorted in an expression of pain._

_Jaune scowled. "It's part of my job description to worry about you all, Artemis. And, evidently enough… I haven't been doing a good job of it…" He couldn't bring himself to meet her concerned eyes._

"_Jaune…" murmured Artemis, her voice shaking with hesitation. _

_Ten feet away, one of the other hunters, a tall, white-haired gunner named Percy pushed his goggles up the bridge of his nose and turned to Jaune. "Perimeter seems clear. We've got enough coverage from the overhead canopies, so no Nevermores or Wyrms will be able to catch us without us knowing. We've also got the higher ground, so even if we get swarmed we can at least begin to pick the terrestrials with Artemis's crossbow, Indra's dust magic, and my Bad News."_

_One of the other hunters, a burly tiger-faunus axeman named Balder brushed his hands and grinned at Percy. "Bad News is one hell of a powerful gun, but even you know that it's a bitch to reload. Why not use Good News?"_

_Percy inhaled deeply. "Good News is designed specifically for accuracy. There's no way it would hold up in a horde situation. At least not for long." The gunner pulled out a mammoth plasma cannon and began setting up its mount. "I need the spread and power. We just don't have a choice."_

_Balder's enthusiasm perfectly offset Percy's grimness. "No need to worry, bud. All them Grimm you and Arty won't be able to get, me and Wyck got it! Right Wyck?"_

_He glanced off towards the swordsman, Wyck, who was busy helping the group's dust mage, Indra, onto his feet before turning with a dark glare towards the axeman. "How do you still manage to keep that fool's smile on your face?" snarled Wyck. "Have you no remorse towards your fallen comrades?"_

"_Wyck… now is not the time," Artemis chastised softly. "We have to get organized if we want a chance of surviving, much less escaping. Squabbling amongst ourselves can come later."_

_Wyck frowned at her but remained silent._

_Shaking her head, Artemis turned towards Indra with a softer expression. "Conduit's still in good shape, Indra?" she asked with a smile._

_The diminutive dust mage ran the checks on his gauntlet, which was in fact a literal conduit for his magic, and nodded._

"_That's good." Artemis let out a sigh before turning to Jaune. "Anything to add, Jaune?"_

_The blonde, who had been silent up to this point, started at his name and glanced at the huntress, a flash of pain washing over his face. "Why would you ask me?"_

_Artemis flinched at the venom in his voice, while Balder gave a hearty laugh._

"_Waddya mean by that? We've always followed your tactical advice before, and you've always done good. Ain't no reason for us not to follow you now!"_

_Jaune felt his fists clench. "Then if what happened at the rendezvous point wasn't my fault, then whose was it? I lead our troop to a bloodbath… losing that point means losing Vale's hold on the fort and the supporting village… all those innocent civilians… we lost half of us in the process…" He could feel the hot tears beginning to stream down his face._

_Percy walked up to the group's de facto leader and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Jaune, it wasn't your fault. The Grimm worked in a coordinated effort in that assault, which, as far as we know, isn't even supposed to be possible. There was no way you could have known that there was some commanding force in play."_

"_I'm a tactician!" Jaune yelled in frustration, forcibly throwing off Percy's hand. "I'm supposed to be prepared for this shit! We've never lost a single hunter before! SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!" He took his anger out on a nearby fallen log, the rotting wood shattering upon impact with his boot._

_Silence fell over the remainders of the hunter troop._

_Wyck's deep, brooding voice cut through the silence. "Well, I certainly blame you."_

"_Wyck!" Artemis turned on him in a rare show of anger._

"_What Arc says is true," scowled Wyck. "He's supposed to have us ready for any situation. That's what you're paid to do, isn't it?" The swordsman turned to Jaune. "So now are you even worth anything to us anymore?"_

"_Wyck, shut up!" snarled Percy. "Are you trying to get us to turn on each other when our lives are on the line? Have you no honor?"_

"_Surely you can get your head out of your ass at least until we get out of here alive," agreed Balder._

"_The one without honor is the one we've placed to lead us!" Wyck growled, pointing his sword at Jaune. "If he wants to make amends, then perhaps he should sacrifice his own life so that the rest of us may escape!"_

"_No! Are you insane!?" Artemis spat out. "We are hunters! We look after one another! We don't leave our own behind! That's the most shameful thing of all!"_

_She turned to the blonde huntsman. "Don't listen to him, Jaune. He's just angry right now… like we all are. But I trust you. You'll get us out of here alive, right?"_

_Jaune stayed silent, but he avoided her gaze._

_Artemis grasped his shoulders. "Okay. You don't have to answer that right now. But we're going to need your help to make it out. Alright?"_

_Jaune hesitated._

_His eyes wandered among his teammates, from Balder's endlessly enthusiastic grin, Percy's steely but accepting gaze, Wyck's turned head, Indra's shy thumbs-up, to finally Artemis's fully trusting smile._

_The blonde heaved a great and weary sigh. "Alright. We're gonna pair up. Surround the elevated area: Balder, stay with Percy – he'll need a mobile defender like you since he won't be able to move with Bad News. Indra, you and Wyck take that side over by the stump. Arty, we'll stay here."_

_As the troop started to take formation, Artemis gave him a reassuring smile. "You've got this."_

_Jaune tried to smile back, but some unexplainable gnawing kept him from doing so. "…No."_

"_Jaune…" Artemis lightly punched his shoulder. "You don't have to be humble. I trust your strategies."_

"_That's not… it," murmured Jaune. "Something's off. Like I'm missing something."_

"_What do you mean?" The blue-haired huntress's brow furrowed._

"_I feel… something that doesn't belong here." Jaune paled. "Fuck… what if this has to do with that commanding force?"_

"_You think… they're prepared for us?"_

_Before Jaune could answer, they felt a rumble from beneath the ground._

_It took a moment before Jaune realized the flaw in his plan. "No… no… we were expecting them to attack from above ground, and they knew…"_

_From under Balder's feet, a giant worm-like creature burst from underneath, wrapping its jaws around the faunus' leg and dragging him into the ground before he even had the chance to pull out his axe._

"_NOOOOOOOO! BALDER!" Percy screamed._

_The ground shook immensely once more, and a jagged fissure formed in the ground in between the remainders of the group. Like ants from a disturbed dirt mound, waves of bipedal reptilians and warthogs spilled out of the crack. The worms shot out of the ground in tandem with the rest of the Grimm._

"_Arrrrrgh! What is happening?" The gunman began firing hysterically, but as Bad News disintegrated a dozen Grimm in one shot, three dozen took their place . "The Boarbatusks I can understand, but Creeps and Tremors? They're not supposed to gather in this area, much less be aggressive to above-ground creatures! I don't underst-"_

_His cognitive sentences ceased to be and the rest became only screams as the Creeps sank their teeth into his flesh and proceeded to pull the gunner apart limb by limb._

_Across from what was left of Percy and Bad News, a particularly fat Tremor burst from the ground and swallowed Indra whole, bursts of lightning magic spewing out of the Tremor's maw being the only sign that Indra even existed at all._

_Wyck slashed madly at the fat Tremor, hacking and hacking desperately in an attempt to save his friend. The Tremor burrowed back underground without so much as a scratch._

_The swordsman's arm dropped limply. He turned his head over his shoulder, and Jaune made out the look of utter contempt and betrayal that was aimed at him before Wyck disappeared in a cloud of Grimm._

_This all happened before Jaune had the chance to react, and he could only watch in dazed horror. "No…"_

_He felt something grab at his arm._

"_We have to run, Jaune!" yelled Artemis, and she pulled him out of his shock._

_The pair ran as fast as they possibly could through the heavily sylvan path, already exhausted from escaping the rendezvous point earlier. Every few seconds, Artemis would fire several arrows towards the horde of Grimm, but it barely seemed to have any effect on quelling the oncoming stampede._

_Jaune slashed repeatedly in front of him, frantically cutting through any bramble or shrubbery that stood in their way._

"_Dammit, they're gaining!" roared Jaune over the combined din of the hundreds of Grimm. A quick glance back revealed what looked like a sea of black closing in on the two hunters with the looming inescapable nature of a tsunami. "Arty, can you use your semblance at all?"_

"_I should be able to!" she shouted back._

_Out of the corner of his eye, Jaune could make out a brilliant flash of green light before he was suddenly carried off the ground by a pair of huge talons. Looking upwards, he saw that the huntress's semblance, Morph, had taken on the form of a rather large falcon._

_They flew swiftly above the cover of the forest's canopies and safely away from the Grimm horde below. Jaune watched worriedly as the Grimm slowed to a halt as their prey took flight, and the horde collectively regressed back the way they came._

"_Did… did the Grimm just make a tactical retreat?" Artemis's voice emanated within Jaune's brain._

"_Yeah…" he murmured out loud. "Grimm don't retreat, period… this is wrong…"_

"_There's not much that we can do about it now," assured Artemis. "We did what we could. The only option we have is to get out and report to Ft. Soap. Maybe they'll know what to – hrrrrrrrrrkkk!"_

_A shadow fell over Jaune, and he looked up to see a Nevermore roughly three times the size of Artemis's Morph plunging it's claws through the falcon's chest._

_The blonde's eyes widened in shock._

"_ARTEMIS! NOOOOOOOO!"_

_The Nevermore cawed almost mockingly and ripped out a large chunk of the falcon's chest cavity. Jaune watched in horror as Artemis's eyes rolled backwards and he could only scream as both he and the Morphed huntress began to plummet several hundred feet back to earth._

_The falcon had lost its grip on Jaune, and they fell as two separate bodies. The huntsman struggled to get closer to his friend as she spiraled away from him._

"_Just… a little… closer!"_

_His fingertips closed in on one of Artemis's talons._

"_Gotcha!"_

_Jaune activated his semblance, and the two falling bodies began to glow white, impervious to any outside damage._

_And not a moment too soon._

_The pair crashed into the forested ground with a loud thud. Both bodies bounced from the impact, and after rolling and bouncing every which way, Jaune finally ground to a halt, his head throbbing from the impact._

_The glow wore off, and he could make out the giant Nevermore watching the scene with brooding, beady eyes before smugly flying away, satisfied with the destruction it had reaped._

_Dazed, Jaune watched the bird depart before he remembered his mortally wounded companion._

"_Artemis!" Scrambling to his feet, the blonde huntsman stumbled his way past the trees and shrubs to where the bloodied falcon lay, which began to weakly glow green. Jaune knelt by her side and cradled her head as she Morphed back into human form._

"_Jaune… unnggg…" she gasped from her now human mouth. The large gaping hole in her chest remained through the transformation, and a pool of blood rapidly grew from where she lay._

"_Shhh, don't move! I'm gonna get you out of here, Arty, just please stay still!" Jaune's voice was frantic and terrified._

"_We know… that… won't happen…" The huntress tried to give Jaune a reassuring smile, but there was no way to mask the contortions of pain as blood spilled out from her mouth at an alarming rate. "Just go… and warn… the others…"_

"_No… no… Arty, please don't die…" The huntsman held his friend closer as the uncontrolled sobs began to burst forth from his throat._

"_Jaune… you're a good man. Don't let… anyone… tell you otherwise…" Artemis managed in between convulsions. She reached a hand towards Jaune, which he immediately grasped tightly. "This… isn't… your fault. You have to… tell them…"_

_The blonde's mind raced, but he couldn't come up with anything to say. The flow of tears spoke all._

_The huntress in his arms gave him a warm smile. "It was… an honor… to serve with you. Please live… for all of us…"_

_She shuddered suddenly, and Jaune could hear his teammate expel her last breath. Her convulsions subsided and the grip of her hand in his relaxed. With a sense of finality, her head slumped over in Jaune's lap._

"_No… please no…" His mind refused to believe, yet there she lay, dead in his arms._

_Of the twelve that had come to defend the fort, eleven were dead._

_And as if to add insult to injury, he had survived covered with no injuries of his own, but instead with the blood of his own friends._

_There was no one left in his troop but him._

_Cradling Artemis's body in his arms, Jaune threw his head back and wept._

* * *

_**The Present**_

"Mmmmuuuhhh…"

Some source of light shined past Jaune's closed eyelids.

Slowly cracking open his eyes, he realized it was morning.

Yawning, he shifted himself into a slumped sitting position.

_Dammit… I dreamed about them again…_

Instantly the overwhelming sense of depression threaten to eat at him again, and he turned to his right to grab the pills on his nightstand.

Except that they weren't there.

_Huh,_ Jaune frowned. _Not only can I not find my pills when I need them… but this isn't my nightstand._

He stared at the pink sheets wrapped around his legs.

This wasn't his bed either.

Jaune felt a shift on his left, and an arm wrapped around his waist. "Morning, Jaune."

He turned his head in surprise and found Ruby, still half asleep as she curled against him.

"Uh… morning, Rubes."

If Jaune had been any more awake, he probably would've freaked as to why he was in Ruby's bed _with Ruby in it_. But the lingering nightmare weighing heavily on his mind blocked out any other emotions that would've been elicited by his predicament.

Still, he couldn't help but smirk slightly at the sight before him. "I'd imagine lying on a metal arm would be uncomfortable."

Ruby chuckled softly. "You'd think. It's actually not terrible. Just cold in the mornings sometimes." She opened her eyes groggily and turned towards Jaune with a smile, but her face suddenly twisted in concern. "Jaune? Are you okay?"

Doing his best to shove down the feeling of despair in his chest, Jaune furrowed his brow in feigned confusion. "Yeah, course I am. Why?"

"Don't lie to me, Jaune." Ruby gave him a stern look. "You've been crying."

Instantly, Jaune brought a hand to his face.

His cheeks were still damp.

Jaune sighed. May as well tell the truth.

"I dreamed about the mission again."

Ruby's eyes widened, and sat up before wrapping her arms tightly around the blonde's shoulders. "Oh, Jaune. I'm so sorry..." she spoke, barely in a whisper.

In spite of himself, Jaune felt a warm feeling wash through his chest.

As much as he hated to admit it, he never felt this comforted when Pyrrha was around. She _did_ seem concerned and willing to help him in his time of need, but she also always seemed… busy.

To be fair, it was never Pyrrha's fault. That was just the nature of her job. She was always away, and there was really nothing either of them could do about it.

And, to be quite honest, Jaune doubted if Pyrrha was even able to relate to his situation

Ruby, on the other hand… she seemed like someone who could sympathize with him. More importantly, he felt like she was someone he could hang onto.

"T-Thanks, Rubes. Seriously, I, uh… thanks." He nervously ran a hand through Ruby's hair. "Hey, uh… we didn't… do anything last night, did we? Because, y'know… we're kind of in… a bed… together."

Ruby chuckled again. "No, Jaune. We didn't. We were just… both in a bad place and we needed each other. I mean, you don't… regret this, do you?"

"No!" Jaune answered, almost too quickly. "I mean… I really don't. In fact, I'm glad that you were here for me."

"And you for me." Ruby smiled and tucked her head in the crook of his neck. "It's eleven on a Saturday. You wanna do anything today?"

"Well…" Jaune mind eased into clarity, recalling the last argument he had had with his now estranged wife. "I was actually thinking about grabbing all my stuff back from the house since I don't really have any reason to stay there anymore. But only if you'll have me!" He squeezed in the last part hurriedly. "I don't wanna assume anything…"

"Jaune."

The blonde gulped at the slight annoyance from Ruby's voice. "Yes?"

She giggled. "I already told you to stay, didn't I?"

"Yeah, I guess so," breathed Jaune, letting out a sigh of relief.

Ruby shook her head, laughing. "You get flustered so easily. It's cute." She started to pull away from the bed. "I guess I should go make breakfast."

"No, wait!" Jaune gripped her wrist before she could leave.

Ruby gave him a quizzical look. "Jaune?"

Jaune looked down towards his lap. "I, uh… can we just… stay here for a bit longer?"

_Because you keep my nightmares at bay, even when all I can see are their faces and when all I can hear are their screams._

Jaune bit his lip at the unspoken thoughts that rattled in his mind.

Ruby's face softened upon hearing the almost pleading edge in her friend's voice.

Her silver eyes were compassionate, full of understanding. The friend who had always been there for him was here now, when he needed her the most.

"I guess we can put off real life for a while." Ruby smiled comfortingly, resting back against Jaune's chest with a sigh.

And for the first time in a very long time, Jaune felt truly at peace.

* * *

**Again, many apologies for not updating in a long time. I'm not sure how long I can keep up the postings in a timely manner, but I'll be damned if I don't try. Thank you so much for being patient.**

**Next chapter is gonna be a doozy. As if Jaune and Pyrrha haven't had enough of a falling out yet...**

**Reviews are always welcome.**

**Until next time!**


	7. Worlds Apart

**Hello again!**

**I'm really happy I managed to get this one out without too much trouble. Or, like, a three month break.**

**I wrote this one while traveling in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Not quite sure if the clean air and mountain view had an effect on my writing, but it sure as hell upped my productivity. Go watch the sun rise over a mountain. It's amazing.**

**Beta: Maxaro. Give in to the Lancaster...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

At the crack of dawn, Pyrrha slipped out of her room with a duffel bag and made a beeline towards the gym.

It was like clockwork. Every day for the last two weeks, the redheaded huntress woke up at 5:45 in the morning, freshened up just enough to wash the crust and sleep from her eyes, and was running laps on the quarter-mile track by 6.

The lieutenant from earlier – _what was her name, Ashera or something? _– had taken it upon herself to take care of Hermes while Pyrrha hit the gym. Apparently, Ashera had become quite affectionate towards the Atlesian husky, and even offered to take him on her own duties as the huntress attended to hers. It took a bit of coaxing from the lieutenant, but eventually Pyrrha relented to leave Hermes in the care of another.

As she kept up her brisk jogging pace, she had to admit, the design of the track was quite aesthetically pleasing, as it hung suspended above the gym and training rooms, giving Pyrrha a nice view of any spars as she ran past them.

Admittedly enough, only half of the reason she consistently kept up her workout routine was to stay fit.

The other reason of course being the man she was getting divorced from.

Ever since the night that they had drunkenly slept together, Pyrrha had felt perturbed and distracted by the apparent vacancy of space on the bed beside her as she woke up each morning, despite having not shared a bed with Jaune since God knows how long. Exercise and training had seemed to keep the lingering memory of him away, at least for the time being, so it quickly became a habit.

After an hour of rigorous conditioning, the huntress hit the showers, exhausted and drenched with sweat. She tensed up slightly as the cold water hit her bare skin, but sighed in content as the water became just the slightest bit warmer, relaxing her muscles and washing away the grime and toxins she had accumulated. After meticulously shampooing her crimson hair, she gingerly rubbed down her sore limbs and torso with soap, basking in the pleasant aromas that converged, before letting the almost rhythmic pulse of water take over and rain down upon her shoulders. With closed eyes, she allowed herself a brief moment of serenity, her mind relinquishing hold on any rampant thoughts as the shower continued to massage her nude body.

After a minute or so, Pyrrha opened her eyes. Internally, a part of her bemoaned the fact that she couldn't stay under the shower any longer, but she also knew that she was dangerously close to being lulled to sleep by it. Exhaling deeply, she quietly turned off the shower and began to dry herself with the towel she had brought with her.

A short time later, she emerged from the gym locker room in a light blue tank top and black leggings, gym bag slung over her shoulder.

While she had half a mind to drop the bag off at her room first, her stomach growled loudly, threatening to make its presence known to every occupant at the fort. Chuckling softly as she conceded defeat, she made her way towards the cafeteria.

The smell of freshly baked pastries almost made Pyrrha drool on site, but she steeled herself to pick up some of the healthier breakfast items provided, including some fruit, eggs, and – _screw it, I suppose no one's looking _– a cheese Danish. A cup of orange juice completed her breakfast of champions, and she meandered among the tables looking for a place to sit.

Within a few seconds, she found what (or rather, who) she was looking for and briskly walked towards the table with her currently occupied partner. His brown hair was down today in curly locks, and his eyes remained focused on the several documents that lay beside his nearly empty plate. The man was dressed as casualyl as could possibly be, in a colorful tank top and what appeared to be swimming trunks, to which Pyrrha snickered at.

"You look like you belong on a beach," she teased, taking the seat opposite of the huntsman.

Caraway looked up at his not-so-unwelcome intruder. "And you look like you went to the gym without me. Again," he huffed in mock annoyance.

"Oh, stop complaining," Pyrrha laughed, digging hungrily into her eggs. "It's not my fault you won't wake up early. You've only got yourself to blame."

"I like my beauty sleep," Caraway stuck out his tongue.

Pyrrha snickered. "Well, you're a very pretty girl, Caraway."

"Not while I'm sitting next to you, I ain't."

"Would you quit with the flirting already? Sheesh." The redhead reached across the table and lightly swatted her widely grinning partner in the face.

"Ow! H-hey, I'm just being honest!" Caraway protested.

Pyrrha rolled her eyes, unable to keep from smirking. "And I told you to stop."

"Stop being honest?"

"… You know what I mean." The huntress finished devouring her eggs and washed it down with some juice. "So what's all this?" she asked, motioning towards the several papers lying askew on the table.

"Oh, these?" Caraway haphazardly sifted through the papers. "These are just some of the bills we've been working out in the meetings. C'mon… you've been paying attention at the meetings, right?"

"Yes…" Pyrrha strategically chomped on the cheese Danish in a manner that hid her reddening face. "Somewhat…"

Caraway narrowed his eyes. "Really?"

"Shush…" the redhead grumbled. "Contrary to popular belief, I've never been great at this political stuff."

"I find that a little hard to believe."

"It's true! All my life I've been trained to be a warrior and to be knowledgeable of any combat-related skills, semblances, strategies, etc. Politics were never deemed important to my education, at least until I got to Beacon. And maybe it means I'm not really the model huntress that people think I am, but politics have always been… well…" Pyrrha shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. "They've always been… Jaune's forte, and I kind of leaned on him for that."

"I… see." She heard Caraway's voice intoning cautiously as her eyes remained pasted to the Danish in her hands.

"H-hey, speaking of which, why don't you take a look at this one?" Out of the corner of her eye, Pyrrha watched as her partner slid one of the various documents across the table towards her plate.

With a raised eyebrow, she carefully read through the paper. "Is this… is this what I think it is?"

"Yup!" Caraway smirked. "A proposition to outlaw the use and manufacture of any and all devices used to control the activities of Grimm – passed just yesterday."

Despite herself, Pyrrha winced. She was a little too familiar with the subject.

The purpose behind said technology had started off benign enough, having been authorized by General Ironwood as military project. In the preliminary experiments, the Atlesian scientists had argued that this technology could be used to keep Grimm attacks at bay and even cull their numbers by turning them against each other. Although looked upon unfavorably by most others, the project continued until White Fang saboteurs managed to smuggle the prototypes out from under Atlas's nose and turn the technology loose.

Such an incident had left Pyrrha's estranged husband the sole survivor of a straight-out massacre (passingly dubbed "The Hunting Party Massacre" by the media), and although the White Fang had long since been dissolved and the Grimm-controlling technology subsequently destroyed, the redhead had taken very little comfort in watching Jaune's mental health rapidly deteriorate from the trauma.

"I guess Jaune'd be glad to hear this," Pyrrha murmured. "Although… maybe not. And, well… we're not exactly on speaking terms, either."

Caraway gave her a reassuring smile. "That kind of divorce, huh?"

"Not so much, actually," the redhead chuckled softly, despite the heavy feeling in her chest. "We've been separated since six months ago, but we only just had a falling out… the day before I left for here."

"Yikes." The huntsman cringed. "That explains why when we met you were bitchier than what people made you out to be."

"Take it easy!" Pyrrha chastised, laughing. "I know, I know, I wasn't in my right of mind that day, but to be fair, you were being pretentious."

"Was not!"

"Was too."

An ocular standoff settled between the two before a twitch of Pyrrha's lips set them both laughing.

Caraway coughed. "Hey, uh… I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds here, but can I ask why you guys were separated? I mean, you did say, after all, that you two only stopped speaking a few weeks ago… but you've been apart for six months?"

Pyrrha gave a small smile. "You're not overstepping anything."

With that, she took a deep breath.

"I'm guessing you know what happened to Jaune's troop. The... the Hunting Party Massacre. Naturally, it… took a toll on him. It's continued to wear down on him, even until now. He quit being a hunter and started teaching, but I kept going on missions, and somewhere in between we, well… we became distant. I don't think… I don't think I ever really knew how to talk to him, or rather, to comfort him after all that. I guess I just couldn't relate to what he'd been through, and us being apart all the time certainly didn't help. We started fighting more and more over the stupidest things. I don't know why we did… we were just… worlds apart."

She laughed bitterly. "When we decided to divorce, everything suddenly went back to normal. We started talking like nothing happened, and it was easier to comfort Jaune when he was feeling depressed. We even started living together again, and I was just hopeful that everything could just be the way that it used to be. It was like there was a chance that we could be… well, friends… again.

"And then… we fell apart. Again. After we… uh… never mind." Pyrrha's flushed with shame upon the memory of that night as her partner raised an eyebrow.

"You two… still live together?"

"Well… yeah." The huntress pinched the bridge of her nose – and immediately regretted it as she felt the remnants of the cheese Danish against her face.

"Dammit..." Wiping away the cheese with a napkin with a soft grumble, she continued. "All our friends _did_ say it was a bad idea, and now… well, I'm inclined to believe them. One of them even said that maybe in the six months that we had split and continued to live together, there was a possibility that Jaune stayed because he thought there was a chance we'd get back together."

Pyrrha sighed. "I… I honestly don't know what to think about that. I mean, were they right? Is it bad for us to continue to be friends with one another?" The redhead frowned. "I... find it hard to believe. Like, we were such good friends once we separated. Maybe they were just jealous of how close we were despite the state of our relationship. There's no reason we can't still be friends if it works out."

She grinned, a spark of determination in her eye. "I'll show them! Once I get back home, I'll talk to Jaune. I'll apologize to him for what happened, and we should be back to normal… right? No, of course we will. Jaune doesn't hold grudges. We'll be fine!"

Caraway glanced uncertainly at the zealous huntress across from him. "I understand wanting to continue to be friends with him, and hell, I've seen people with lesser character having been able to do that. But I have to ask – and I'm not trying to be accusing or anything! You said that maybe Jaune stayed friends with you for the possibility for getting back together with you. Did you ever wonder if maybe you're still trying to be friends with Jaune because… because you still want to be with him?"

"W-what?"

The question blind sighted Pyrrha completely. She'd never ever considered the possibility before and immediately wanted to dispel the assumption. The reasonable side of her, however, wondered if there was any possibility at all that this could be true.

"I… uh… I don't think so…?" She cleared her throat and tried (but failed) to regain her composure. "No… no, that's not right… we're just… exes who are still friends. Right? I mean… I don't know…"

Unable to untangle her thoughts, Pyrrha exhaled heavily, her head now in her hands.

The brown-haired huntsman reached a hand onto his partner's shoulder. "You don't have to figure everything out right now. But… well, it's something you should consider. Don't rule it out completely, no matter how much you don't want to believe it."

"R-right."

"And, at the same time, I think you should try to stay friends with your ex. Obviously, the way you talk about him, even if you don't to be together with him once more, you care deeply for him. So, I think it would be foolish for you to completely relinquish that friendship altogether."

Pyrrha nodded, a smile gracing her face once more. "Of course."

"And well, if you need a little tender-loving care, I'm always down to –"

Pyrrha lightly batted Caraway in the face, giggling. "You just _had_ to go and ruin the moment. Didn't I tell you to stop flirting with me?"

"I wasn't flirting! Honest! Maybe."

The huntress batted her partner's face again, and they both burst into fits of laughter.

* * *

Ruby watched the clock patiently as the hands of the clock slowly moved from 4:59 to 5:00.

As if on cue, the door by the front desk opened up as Jaune and a slightly older lady emerged into view.

"And if you have any questions, Mr. Arc, feel free to call me!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Cerrillos. I guess we'll see each other at the next session!"

The two gave their farewells, and Jaune made his way with a smile on his face towards Ruby as she rose from her seat in the lobby.

"So!" Ruby chirped cheerfully. "How was your first session of therapy?"

"Ah…" Jaune inhaled. "It's exhausting, to be honest. But y'know… I realized that I had a lot more stuff to talk about then I thought I would. I mean, I went in there thinking I'd have to dig deep for stuff to talk about, but with Mrs. Cerrillos' help, it all just came spilling out! And man… I was not prepared to do that much crying… but, I _do_ feel a hell of a lot better. So, y'know… thanks for making me do this."

Ruby beamed. "Hey, you were willing to put effort into it. Give yourself a _little_ bit of credit."

"I wouldn't have done this if you hadn't dragged me here."

The pair exited the therapist's office and made their way downtown. It was a sunny yet cool Saturday, perfect for an excursion around town. After picking up some drinks from the local coffee shop, Jaune and Ruby strolled through town in a random direction, enjoying the light breeze and simply content to amble aimlessly without destination.

"Did Oobleck ever get back to you on that Beacon job offer?" Ruby asked, handling the hot coffee with her unfeeling mechanical arm.

Jaune grinned. "As a matter of fact, Bart gave me a call back yesterday."

"I see we're on a first name basis, eh?"

"I… yeah, I guess so. Rolls off the tongue surprisingly well. And now I have an excuse to forget about calling him 'Doctor.'" Shrugging, Jaune continued. "Anyway, he said the spot's open, but it's a spot that a lot of other people vying for as well, so they're bringing me in for an interview next week. I mean, I still get the advantage with the references and past experience with the profs there, but I guess I can't be too cocky."

"Still, that's really exciting!" Ruby smiled brightly at him. "The chance to be back where it all began? What I'd give for all that nostalgia! Seriously, I really am happy for you, even if it's not a for-sure thing."

Jaune chuckled. "If you're so keen on the idea, why don't _you_ apply for the job?"

"It… well…" Ruby sighed. "I think going back would hurt for me. At least _this_ soon, anyway. It's all the stuff I aspired to be… and all the stuff that I can't be anymore. But still, Jaune, if you snag this job, it'll be the most exciting thing since nano-refolding weapon technology!"

She grinned and grabbed the blonde's hand. "I couldn't be happier for you, Jaune. Really."

Jaune's face reddened slightly at the touch before he gave Ruby a warm smile. "Thanks Rubes. So… what about you, then? Is that weapons mechanic job something you're happy doing?"

Ruby shrugged. "It's something to do. I mean, it's not fancy, but I enjoy doing it enough. I mean, hey, I get to tinker with weapons parts all day, so it's not too bad. Oh, and I get paid!" She laughed hollowly. "Although… I still kinda wish I was doing something more… fulfilling."

"Baby steps, Rubes. You'll find your way before you know it." Jaune winked. "Hey, it's a step in the right direction, right?"

Ruby winked back. "I daresay you're taking that first step with me, too."

"Fair enough."

Giggling, they walked hand in hand for a ways, pointing out old familiar spots as well as newer additions to the city. Since the ten years when they had first become familiar with the city of Vale, it had remained more or less the same, with the exception of the occasional remodeling and retouching. The modern, tech-savvy aesthetic of Vale was as sleek as ever, and the addition of new shops, restaurants, and even the rapidly evolving technologies served only to amplify the city's beauty. Tourists flocked in on the regular, economy boomed inside and outside the city, and the Vytal Festival (which would actually be starting up within the week) was an even bigger event than when Jaune and Ruby had first attended, almost tripling in attendees.

"The shop will be open Monday through Wednesday, but I'll get the rest of the week off. We should go check out the festival this year," mused Ruby.

"For sure. I haven't been since Beacon."

"I went the year after we graduated."

"Oh really? Who'd you go with?"

"I… went by myself."

Jaune laughed. "Aw, that sucks. I'm sorry none of us were around to go with you."

"It's alright," Ruby smiled. "It was actually not that bad of an experience going alone. There's some nice freedom involved with not having to worry about other people while you're enjoying everything. It's just that... well, it was then that I realized we had become adults. We'd all be busy all the time, especially with the responsibility of hunters, and it would be hard to coordinate our free time with each other from then on. So this… being able to go to the festival again, even if it's just you and me… it's something special."

Jaune nodded, absorbing her words. "I never really thought of it like that. I guess I kinda just took everything for granted for a while there."

"I totally get that. When Weiss managed to get us all together – or most of us, at least – for the food drive event… that was the first time I'd talked to anyone in weeks, other than Weiss, of course. She was bitching me out for not wanting to go; you should've seen how worried she was, it would've been hilarious if I hadn't been a miserable fuck. And I'm glad she dragged me out – I got to see everyone again, doing something really great for the community. I mean, what could be more fun or fulfilling? I loved it… and I... I loved being able to see you again after so long. I missed talking with you, y'know."

She looked up at Jaune, who remained oddly silent, staring at his feet.

Ruby giggled. "Good to know you missed me too, you dummy. Anyway, it's kinda funny how these things work out, huh? Meeting again at an event I wasn't even sure I was going to, and now we're living together in the same house. It really _is_ almost like Beacon again… and maybe because of that, I feel better than I have in a while. I mean, I was okay on my own after the accident and all, but living without people in my life was… different. Empty, I guess. And then along came you! Even with all the shit you had to go through, you were willing to come and keep me company and put up with my own burdens. I mean, I'm sure you don't need any of my baggage on top of yours, but you still… I'm sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I? I'm totally rambling… but really, truly, thanks for putting up with me. It really means a lot to – mmph!"

Any of the several hundred thoughts that floated around in Ruby's head were immediately silenced as she felt Jaune's lips press up against her own. Her brain frantically tried to process the current situation, but the mental sparks effectively short-circuited any and all thought processes.

A few seconds more of mind-numbing sparks passed before Jaune released her. Ruby gasped, half in oxygen deprivation, half in wordless surprise, with her eyes wide and her jaw hanging open.

Jaune chuckled at the sight. "I should be the one thanking _you_ for putting up with _me_. I know I can be a stubborn mule sometimes, but somehow you've always been there to set me straight. If you'll have me, I'd love to be the one who keeps you company." His eyes went shifted back to his shoes as he blushed deeply.

Ruby had managed to piece back enough parts of her brain at this point to process a few cognitive thoughts, which came out in stutters. "A-are you sure? I-I mean, the thing between you and Pyrrha… I thought that was still fresh… I thought you might wanna talk to her first… I don't wanna force you into anything you're not ready for… have I been too forward…?"

The blonde grasped her firmly by the shoulders, offering a warm smile. "It's okay, Rubes. I'm asking this of my own accord. Pyrrha has no hold on me, and I've no desire to go back to that relationship. I know now that it's a cycle that'll continue to wear and tear at what I have left with Pyrrha. I _have_ to move on, if not just for me, than for both me and her. More importantly… I like you. No, that's wrong… I love you. I love the person that you are and the person that you make me want to be. I loved you as a friend and now as something… well, more. And… and I should've done this a long time ago. Get back in contact with you, I mean. I didn't mean to leave you by yourself, yet, like the fool I am, I –"

"Stop." Ruby's voice tried to remain firm, but she couldn't deny the slight tremble in her voice. "No more dwelling on the past. If you want to go forward… with me… then I will always be by your side. I would love nothing more than to be by your side." Any restraint from smiling was shattered completely, and the redhead wrapped her arms tightly around Jaune, as if afraid of losing him at any instant. "But only if you're okay with it."

Jaune hugged her back just as tightly, kissing the top of her head. "I want to be with you more than anything. Does that answer your question?'

She tried to pout at his light teasing, but the smile refused to be swept from her face. "Yes… yes, it does."

If hearts could soar, than surely theirs were comets visiting distant galaxies.

* * *

**This wasn't quite the doozy chapter I promised, I think. Oh well. It's certainly next - the inevitable is inescapable. And I just realized how redundant that sounds.**

**Are any of ya'll going to RTX this year? Please, if you see me on the floor, feel free to say hi. I'm spending the rest of this week (and what little of next week) to **_**try**_** and scrap together a genderbent Neo cosplay. Aside from that, I'll be dressed as an Asian hipster. Maybe I'll wear a nametag to make things easier.**

**So yeah, I'll probably be busy for the next few weeks. We'll see how the writing goes.**

**Reviews are always welcome!**

**See ya on the next one!**


	8. A Pregnant Pause

**So, first things first:**

**I should apologize for leaving for so long like this. College is a thing, as well as a lot of personal issues that I quite honestly don't know if I'll resolve anytime soon. And honestly, I only expect things to get busier from here.**

**Point is, I really want to continue writing for you guys. I enjoy writing it as much as you enjoy reading it, for those of you who've stuck around. But please don't be disappointed if I drop out on you guys again like I keep doing. I hate that I do... but I just want you guys to be aware.**

**For those of you who are still here with me as I try to get my shit together - I think you're hella dope. Thanks.**

**Beta - Maxaro. Thanks to you most of all. Your nonsensical babbles on Tumblr give me life.**

**I'll stop moping now. Enjoy.**

* * *

The rest of the meetings at Ft. Soap went over smoothly.

With a little input from the two hunters present, the council of Vale and the delegates from Ashes Savanna finished settling their differences and began discussing ways that the past transgressions between what had been their previous incarnations could be amended. Pyrrha had been holding her breath – the two parties had every reason to despise the other – but it seemed like she had nothing to worry about, for they were tired of fighting each other and willing to work it out.

It had been a little over a month since she had begun her delegation mission at the fort, and at long last she was going home.

Pyrrha let out a yawn as she leisurely cracked every joint in her body. It seemed like an eternity since her mission had started, and, having been much more used to combat intensive missions in the past, this particular one had taken quite a toll on her.

She was exhausted, and it was only because Caraway's help (and sometimes distractions) that she had managed to keep her sanity intact. He'd taught her a few things about the world of politics, and in turn she helped him become an even better combatant. Despite the minutia of diplomacy and whatnot, Caraway had helped keep the experience interesting, if not fun, and Pyrrha thanked him graciously for that.

They had exchanged numbers, with Pyrrha giving Caraway a stern look as he grinned a little too wide. Still, he had become a good friend, one that the redhead was happy to keep in contact with.

So, with her diplomacy mission finally over, it was finally time to return to the place she called home.

And honestly... she wasn't exactly thrilled.

For better or worse, she hadn't attempted to make contact with Jaune ever since he had left that fateful morning, and it itched at her conscience to make heads or tails of just what their relationship was now.

She had to wonder what state of mind he was in at this point in time, since he hadn't exactly made an effort to contact her either.

Maybe he preferred to speak in person and discuss where they both were. Mentally. Emotionally.

Romantically…?

A whimper from Hermes shook Pyrrha out of her thoughts.

Smiling, she scratched the Atlesian Husky under his neck. "Calm down, boy. I'm as tired as you are, but we're almost home. Just hang in there a bit longer, buddy."

Home... it was strange how one word could incur so many emotions within a person. It was stranger still that "apprehension" was now one of those feelings when it had not been one before.

Sighing, Pyrrha's thoughts drifted back to her conversation with Caraway over breakfast, when he had asked her the one question that had ground the gears in her mind to a screeching halt.

"_Did you ever wonder if maybe you're still trying to be friends with Jaune because… because you still want to be with him?"_

The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed in her mind. Was she so petty of a person that she only bothered to keep Jaune around as a reminder of what they had been and the small possibility that they could be together once more?

It was just convenience, she had told herself. They were only living together because it was convenient. She reminded herself that they were never going to be an item again and that they were fine enough as close friends.

_So what about the sex that we had? Was that nothing, too?_

Pyrrha cursed herself as she struggled to counter her own accusations. What _was_ that night, then? How could that have ended well in _any way whatsoever_ without them possibly getting back together?

She knew for sure it wasn't Jaune's fault, for sure.

So was it hers?

_I wasn't thinking straight. And I was drunk, too. And... and he didn't stop me, either._

Somehow that argument seemed weak and feeble in her mind.

"_Did you ever wonder if maybe you're still trying to be friends with Jaune because… because you still want to be with him?"_

As she replayed those words in her mind, she realized that, as much as she ridiculed it and tried to deny it (more to herself than to Caraway), as much as she brushed it off… she couldn't bring herself to answer no to the question.

_I didn't have sex with Jaune just out of drunken fooling… there must have been a part of me that desired his company, his loving… again, after all this time..._

"No!" The words escaped her mouth before Pyrrha could restrain herself.

"Something the matter, Ms. Nikos?"

The redhead jumped as one of the airship's flight attendants once again appeared seemingly out of thin air.

"Ah, n-no, I'm sorry. I just… I woke up from a nightmare just now."

She wanted to slap herself for how stupid and unconvincing the excuse sounded as it fell out of her mouth.

The flight attendant, as personably fake as she had probably been trained to be, smiled accommodatingly and nodded.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Nikos. Can I get you something to help calm your nerves?" she asked politely.

Pyrrha shook her head emphatically. "I-I'll be fine. I just need a moment. B-but thanks."

With a bow, the flight attendant smiled again. "Well, just let me know if you need anything, Ms. Nikos. We aim to please!" And just as quickly as before, she disappeared to whatever negative space she had come from.

Pyrrha watched blankly as the flight attendant disappeared from view, her thoughts attempting to rearrange in whatever working order they had previously been in.

_Alright, Pyrrha, relax. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out._

For the moment, she just wanted to apologize to him. To return to the way things used to be.

She wanted to fix it all, more than anything else.

And then, perhaps after all was said and done, they could decide where to go from there.

"... Hmmm?"

Feeling a slight brushing at her feet, Pyrrha looked down to see Hermes quietly nestled himself around his owner softly dozing off to the white noise of the airship.

She smiled. For now, while her responsibility still loomed in a near yet distant future, she allowed herself to enjoy what small comfort she draw from the little things.

Outside her window, day quickly turned to night, and the haphazard patterns of Vale's night lights finally came into view, unbeknownst to airship's preoccupied passenger.

* * *

"... Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"You're shaking, hun."

No one could really blame him.

Because currently, Jaune was in a pickle.

And that pickle involved being stared down by a red-eyed Yang.

Jaune gulped audibly.

Beside him, Ruby squeezed his hand and laid her chin on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Jaune. She won't hurt you. Not while I'm around, anyway."

"Oh good!" Yang cracked her neck and smiled darkly. "Because I really, _really_ need to have a one-on-one parent-teacher conference with Professor Vomit over here."

Ruby groaned in the crook of Jaune's neck. "You're not my mother, Yang…"

Jaune noted that under rather different circumstances, he would have found Ruby's groaning upon his neck somewhat arousing.

He blinked hard and immediately snuffed out the inappropriately timed thought.

From the kitchen, Blake came in with a fresh pot of tea and several small mugs. "As situationally ironic as the wording is, she's right, Yang. They're both adults, and while this comes as a surprise to all of us, if they're happy about their recent development, then leave them be. You don't have to go and antagonize Jaune like that." She proceeded to pour out tea for each of them.

Yang glared at the other blonde for a second longer, then heaved a sigh as she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they had changed back from red to the usual lilac. "I know. I'm just trying to process everything right now."

"You process things in anger…? That's not smart, is it?" Jaune chuckled uneasily, before releasing an exclamation as Ruby proceeded to give him a warning punch in the shoulder with her metal fist.

The blonde huntress shot him a withering glance. "What you did isn't exactly smart either, dipshit."

Jaune looked away, coughing. "Sorry."

"Well, it's beside the point!" Ruby interjected cheerfully. "Look, Jaune and I are happy, and I want you guys to be happy for us, too! Like, no fighting, please. We've decided that, yeah, it's kind of unexpected, but we're going to go through with it, because we're ready to move on to that part of our lives."

"Well, I for one am thrilled for you two," Blake smiled, clasping her hands together in politely restrained excitement. "As short of a time that you two have been together, I'm glad that you have found what you needed in each other to move forward in life, and if this brings you happiness as well, then who am I to stop you two from being the happiest you could be?"

"I swear, you only get this excited when you talk about your romance novels," Yang rolled her eyes. "Is this what this is to you? Another lovey-dovey romance book?"

"Yang." Blake's voice held a hint of a warning. "These are our friends and family. I can successfully remove fantasy from the real world, thank you very much. You, however, seem to be having trouble separating your preferred notion of your little sister and the mature woman sitting in front of you."

"Guys…" Ruby began. "Please stop…"

"Yeah, please. She's not that mature," added Jaune.

"_You're_ not helping," Ruby growled, glaring at the blond beside her.

"Sorry!" Jaune gave her a weak smile. "I'm not great under pressure…"

Across the room, Yang winced at Blake's scathing retort, but said nothing, instead choosing to stare at the floor.

In the midst of the tense silence, the door rang.

"Ah, they're here!" Blake almost jumped up from her seat next to Yang, and rushed to open the door.

Jaune blinked. "Who's here…?"

As soon as he finished his question, the door swung open, and a flash of pink blurred across the room towards Jaune.

"JAUUUNNNEEEEYYYY!"

"UMPH! Nora – urk!" Jaune barely had time to react as the orange-haired girl swiftly wrapped her arms around his neck, crushing his windpipe. Next to them, Ruby scooted away from the two, giggling.

"OHMYGOD JAUNEY I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU AND RUBES! SO SO SOOOOOOOOO HAPPY!"

"Ow… my neck…" managed Jaune, before twisting enough to open up his air passageway. "Thanks, Nora… but how did you know?"

"Blake told us over the phone." Ren entered a short second afterward, closing the door behind him and taking off his shoes. "Once we heard the news, we rushed over here as fast as we could."

Nora finally let go of Jaune. "It was imperative that we come and celebrate with our fearless leader!"

Jaune chuckled. "Nora, I'm not your leader anymore, y'know."

"Perhaps not," hummed Ren. "But you'll always be our teammate."

The blonde chuckled wearily and gave his two old friends a genuine smile. "You guys… thank you so much."

"Yeah, seriously," Ruby piped from Jaune's side, clasping his hand with her own human hand once more. "It means a lot for you guys to take time out of your busy days to come congratulate us."

"Oh, it was nothing," smile Ren. "Promise."

There was suddenly another frantic knocking at the door, and everyone glanced at it in surprise.

"… I think I might know who that is," Ruby intoned in realization as Blake opened the door once more.

From the doorway, a very dour-looking Weiss stomped angrily on the doormat and, without even a moment's hesitation, made a beeline towards Jaune.

"Oh, not again…" the blonde groaned.

The heiress planted herself directly in front of Jaune, looming inches over his face, the familiar scowl ever present as usual.

Jaune gulped. "Um… hi?"

"How _dare_ you, Jaune Arc?" she spit, with pure venom.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry, Weiss, I –"

The heiress pulled him up by the collar threateningly, and Jaune shrunk back, bracing himself for the worst.

And then something completely unexpected happened.

Weiss grinned.

"How _dare_ you start celebrating without me?" she chuckled and lightly rapped her knuckles on his forehead. "Congrats, you lunkhead."

"Weiss!" Ruby immediately crushed the heiress in a full-body hug once she realized the danger had passed. "You came!"

"Oof! Ruby!" Weiss huffed, before surrendering to laughter. "Of course I came, you dolt. What kind of friend would I be if I missed such an occasion?"

Jaune blinked. "So… you're not mad at me?"

Weiss smirked at him. "Why would I be? Ruby told me all about it, and as long as you make her happy, I have no qualms with it."

Yang snorted from the corner of the room, which only Jaune seemed to hear amidst the excitement.

"Weiss, I can't believe you came down here from freaking Atlas to do this!"

"You're only going to make me repeat myself, Ruby. What kind of friend would I be if I missed such an occasion?"

As the girls sans Yang gathered near the kitchen to catch up, Ren grinned and elbowed his still dazed teammate before gestured towards Ruby. "I told you so."

Jaune looked up at the dark-haired boy from his seat. "I guess… I guess you did. How are you so… perceptive?"

"A lot of listening and learning from what the world has to give you," Ren chuckled and leaned in closer. "And a little bit of winging it."

"And just like that, the illusion is shattered," Jaune shook his head, laughing.

Ren returned the laugh, putting a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Hey, winging it isn't without its benefits. After all, I highly doubt that you planned on confessing your love to Ruby."

Jaune only stared at his friend in half wonder, half mirth. "You are so damn _wise_."

"You give me too much credit, my friend," Ren smirked. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and impulsively make out with my girlfriend."

"Man, you're just full of surprises, huh?"

As Ren left to join the others, Jaune almost felt the room grow colder as he turned to look at the one remaining occupant in it.

"So," Yang murmured. "I guess we get our one-on-one after all."

Jaune sighed. "Yang, I –"

"Shut up."

He obliged quickly.

The huntress sighed. "Because I know, you'd only start apologizing for things that…" She shifted uneasily. "… aren't necessarily your fault."

Yang paused, sipping her tea to wet her throat.

"I've decided… that I'm going to be happy for you and Rubes. I've seen everyone else react the way that they have towards your announcement. And I'm the only one who got all mad and pissy. And I mean... I think I have a right to be. After all, Ruby is my little sister, and I want to make sure she's always happy."

She shuddered tiredly, and Jaune could see her eyes beginning to water. "But even when she lost her arm and got all fucked up… I wasn't there. I... I fucked up, Jaune. I let work get in the way of family. You, on the other hand… you were there for her. And you helped her so damn much… so much more than I did."

Jaune coughed. "Yang, I'm at fault, too. I was too busy feeling sorry for myself after Pyrrha and I separated –"

"Look, I don't blame you. You had a lot going on, I know. But you still came and helped Rubes regardless. And that's what matters to me. I mean…" Yang glanced at her sister, who was happily chatting with everyone else in the next room. "I think this is legitimately the happiest I've seen her in a really, really long time. And I think the same goes for you. You two… deserve people like each other. And I'm willing to overlook this one little oversight as long as you never do anything to hurt my baby sister."

Yang looked back at him, the red glint twinkling in her eye. "Understand?"

For once, with Yang glaring him down as she did… Jaune didn't feel afraid. After all, he had nothing to fear if all he did was as Yang said. And with as much he cared for Ruby, it wasn't going to be hard.

He laughed. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Yang smiled, letting out a breath. After a moment, she stood up. "Come here."

"Uh… okay?" Jaune stood up and hesitantly walked over to where Yang was standing, bracing himself for whatever she had planned for him.

She chuckled. "Don't be such a pussy." With that, Yang closed the gap between them and wrapped the other blonde in a warm embrace.

Slightly surprised at first, Jaune eventually returned the hug in earnest. They stood there for some time.

"I think... I'm gonna feel better if you're around to take care of my sister," Yang murmured as they remained embraced.

Jaune chuckled. "She doesn't need care, per se. She's a strong woman, Yang. You gotta give her that."

"Ha." They separated from each other. "That's why I'm glad that you'll be there for her. Because you respect her."

"I'd be foolish not to. She's much stronger than I could ever be. In more ways than one."

Yang nodded, then frowned, looking suddenly uncomfortable. "That... still leaves us with one problem."

The other blonde's brow furrowed in worry. "What do you mean?"

"You know." Yang crossed her arms. "I think everyone else knows it, too, but I doubt they wanna bring it up and kill the mood. In any case... there's still only seven of us here."

"… Oh."

Suddenly Jaune didn't feel quite so relieved anymore.

"This is important, Jaune," Yang began. "I know right now the last thing you might wanna do is talk to her, and I can understand why after what she did to you. That shit is not cool."

"I know, I know," Jaune sighed heavily. "That doesn't make me feel any better about it."

Yang offered him a weak, but sincere smile. "Jaune… eventually she's gonna come calling if you don't, and it's not something you can hide from her." She placed a hand on the perturbed blonde's shoulder and squeezed.

"You're gonna have to tell Pyrrha about all of this."

* * *

"Jaune, I'm home!"

With the lights flipped on, Pyrrha tiredly stripped out of her shoes and socks, setting her bags down by the front door before making her way down the front hallway, with Hermes padding along behind her.

"Jaune? C'mon, Jaune. I know you might still be angry at me, but we need to talk."

She stood by his side of the house, crossing her arms impatiently.

Or at least it seemed impatient to her. From an outside perspective, she seemed more antsy than impatient.

"… Jaune? This isn't funny anymore."

Still no response.

Throwing her hands in the air and hissing in frustration, Pyrrha attempted to stalk towards the closed door at the end of the hallway.

However, the husky had rushed in front of her, blocking off the path and whimpering.

"Ughh… what is it now, Hermes?" Pyrrha growled in irritation. "You're not going to stop me from getting to that door. I need to talk to him, and no amount of whining is going to change my mind."

She almost felt bad for chastising the Atlesian husky. Almost

The redhead stepped over her dog and strode to the door, Hermes whimpering even louder after her, as if begging her not to open the door.

With every step she took, she could feel her throat suddenly closing up tighter and tighter until she was face to face with the door.

_Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out._

The feeling of suffocation was almost unbearable now.

_It's now or never, Pyrrha. You owe it to him. You owe it to yourself. _

With a deep breath, Pyrrha opened the door and turned on the lights.

"Jaune, we need to…"

Her sentence trailed off as an eerie sight greeted her, one that she could not have prepared for.

Aside from a threadbare, sheetless bed and rather dusty table, the room was completely empty. There was barely any proof that Jaune had been here in the first place. It was scary how impersonal it looked, with no color or decorative items to brighten up the room.

To Pyrrha, it looked like a hospice room, waiting for whichever poor soul to die in it next.

She did the only thing her body would allow her to do.

Pyrrha panicked.

Unable to bear the sight of the room, she bolted towards her side of the house. Once in her room, she shut the door swiftly behind herself and Hermes, who had chased after her. Her hands fumbled in her pockets until she found her scroll.

She immediately dialed Jaune's number.

It only took a few rings, but each ring felt like an eternity, and her heart kept threatening to jump out of her chest.

When he finally picked up, she was practically screaming.

"YOURROOMWHYISITEMPTYIDONTUNDERSTA-"

"_Pyrrha!? Pyr-PYRRHA, CALM DOWN. Shhh… breathe in, breathe out… breathe in, breathe out…"_

The redhead followed the rhythm of Jaune's voice, calming down at the sound of it. "I-I-I'm sorry… I just saw your empty room… and I panicked… it looked so weird… like you had died or something… and I know you had depression, so I thought... I thought… oh God…"

"_Pyrrha… it's okay. I'm still alive. I promise. I mean, this call would be significantly harder if I wasn't, y'know."_

She chuckled in spite of herself and sat down upon her bed. "I know… I know you're trying to make me feel better… but don't joke about that… please."

"_Sorry, Pyr… anyway, I'm sorry you had to come home to that… I should have called you and said something-"_

"No, Jaune, I'm sorry," Pyrrha blurted out. "I-I… what I did was wrong, and… the fact that it happened… I'm ashamed of myself, Jaune. But I want to fix it. I really do… I truly regret it… and I want to be back to the way we were… before, I mean."

There was a long pause on the other end. Hermes proceeded to pounce onto the bed and lay next to Pyrrha, nuzzling his snout in her lap.

"… _before? Like, when we were… together?"_

Once more, the gears ground to a halt.

_Together? Do I want that? Could we be together again?_

"… _um. Crowd control to Major Pyrrha…?"_

"Huh? Oh, yes… I mean NO! I mean… not no, but I what I meant was when we were okay living with each other! Even if it was… a strange arrangement."

A part of her screamed as she said this, but she ignored it.

_Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out._

"You know… back when we were… friends."

A pause. _"Back when we were… friends…?"_

"Yes…" Pyrrha sighed, feeling like she was lifting a weight off her chest at long last.

It felt... amazing.

She smiled tiredly to herself as she scratched Hermes' head. "It's too… bizarre without you here. I… miss it. I miss y-" She stopped herself. "… Where _are_ you?"

Pyrrha heard him sigh through the scroll.

"_Pyrrha… I have something I need to tell you."_

She blinked, confused as to why he didn't directly answer the question.

"Um… okay. Then tell me."

A sigh. _"When you were gone… I started to hang out with Ruby. And… well, long story short, she's expecting… a child. She's expecting a child."_

Something in what Jaune said didn't register in Pyrrha's brain.

"A child? Ruby's pregnant? Oh, that's wonderful! I had no idea she was even seeing someone! He must be a wonderful man if Ruby took a liking to him enough to bear children with him! Oh, my… that's so wonderful… we have to go congratulate them at some point –"

"_Pyrrha!"_

"Y-yes?"

"_It's mine. The child is mine."_

* * *

**I'm bad at keeping secrets.**

**In case you guys missed it, that was the sound of me dropping a big fucking bomb on yo asses. Sorry not sorry.**

**What to expect next? Pyrrha comes to terms with how she actually feels about Jaune.**

**Thanks again for sticking with me. Hopefully it won't be too long a wait before the next chapter comes out.**

**Until next time!**


	9. Running a Mile in Her Shoes

**And here we go.**

**Another chapter out, not too much of a gap in between, thank goodness. Hopefully my plans to write more in the upcoming months come to fruition, as some things have cleared up. Others... not so much, but I'm in no position to complain.**

**Beta: Maxaro. I'm actually reading The Martian as I type. It's a stellar book, puns aside.**

* * *

Nora yawned and attempted to wipe the sleep out of her eyes. Shivering a bit against the slightly cooler-than-usual morning temperature, she pulled on a light hoodie over her tank top and pajama bottoms before walking towards the door of her room.

Despite the earliness of the hour and Nora's propensity to sleep in, the smell of pancakes cooking had awoken her, and naturally she had decided to follow its scent to its origin and its dashingly attractive cook.

Sure, that last part may have been a matter of opinion, but Nora could be quite persuasive on the matter – especially so if you had legs and she had her hammer on her.

As Nora entered the kitchen area, Ren looked up and flashed her a smirk.

"Ah, the bear finally awakens after a long winter of hibernation," her boyfriend teased playfully, adopting a narrative tone. "She hasn't eaten in over three months, and now comes in search of potential meal."

"It's eight in the morning, so don't even give me that lip about waking up late. And plus Mama bear's gotta eat, and ain't nobody gonna stop me," she retorted in equal playfulness, lazily finding his lips with her own before pulling back and trudging past him. "'Potential,' my ass."

She immediately yelped as she felt a squeeze on her rear end, and the mirthful voice from behind her. "Your ass indeed has potential."

Sometimes Ren really took Nora off guard.

And that was why that shrewd, unassuming man turned her on so damn much.

"Geez…" Nora sighed, half in exasperation and half in a haze of hastily stifled urges. "You could at least wait til I've eaten before pulling that shit on me." She stretched her arms and torso, feeling each and every muscle ripple as she did so. "Did you pick the mail up this morning?"

"Not yet. It's… really cold."

"Right." Nora grinned at him, swiping up the mailbox keys. "Delicate little lotus flowers don't survive well in the cold. Leave it to the one worthy of Valhalla to brave the cold, my precious blossom!"

She heard a snort from behind her as she walked past the huntsman. "Yeah, whatever."

Opening the door of their house, she walked barefoot across the rather frigid pavement towards the mailbox in front of their minuscule yard. The jangle of the keys rattled along beside her as she reached to unlock the tiny door.

_Damn… it's all junk mail today, _Nora groaned internally, folding the lump of papers under her left arm. Not like she expected any different, but to Nora boring was still to be treated the way boring had always been treated.

Turning around, she caught sight of a familiar and somewhat ragged form in sweats and a light cerulean training bra heaving ever so slowly towards Nora, her red hair dripping with sweat.

Nora blinked.

"… Pyrrha…?"

The redhead waved with a mighty effort and tempered to a stop before Nora, much in the same way that molten steel tempers solid with agonizing evetuality.

"H… hey… Nora!" Bowled over with her shaking hands on her shaking knees, Pyrrha attempted to reply in between gulps of air, to little success. "What's up… with… you and… Ren…?"

Now that the redhead stood directly in front of her, Nora was able to get a better look at her best friend

Suffice to say, Pyrrha looked... awful. She seemed on the verge of dropping like a sack of potatoes, and the half-hearted grin looked more like a pained grimace. As a matter of fact, _all _of her looked in pain. Her body was drenched in sweat, and she shined like polished marble - well, _melting_ polished marble, in any case.

However, it was Pyrrha's eyes that stood out the most. They were bagged and haggard, and sleep seemed to have avoided them like the plague.

Nora cleared her throat and tiredly rubbed her nose with her sleeve. "Pyr… what are… doing?"

"Ahah… heh… me? I just… been… y'know… jogging. Good for… the heart!"

She raised an eyebrow dubiously. "From… your house…?"

"Yup! Issa… issa long way, y'know?" Pyrrha laughed, which quickly turned into a wheezing fit.

"Uh…" Nora quickly ran the numbers in her head. "Pyr, you live on the other side of the city. That's an hour-long drive… so that's like forty miles? That's not some 'jog!' Goddamn, Pyrrha, when did you start running?"

"Ah… like… 5:30?"

"… You ran an hour-long drive… in two and a half hours." Nora's head began to ache at the revelation. "That's fucking insane! On top of that, that doesn't sound healthy at all! I mean, maybe I'm kinda impressed, but I'm really worried that you're gonna keel over any second now..."

Pyrrha smiled sheepishly, her heaving breathing still not slowing down. "Well… y'know… I like running."

Nora groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. All these years later, still the same stubborn, prideful Pyrrha. Based on their personalities alone, it was almost ridiculous how many times Nora had found herself scolding her best friend throughout their friendship as opposed to the other way around.

"I'm pretty sure I know what's up. You're coming in and having breakfast with Ren and me, and we're going to talk. I swear, with how stubborn you are, you probably didn't even eat anything before you ran."

"But I… I gotta… run back…" The redhead attempted to swivel around and almost buckled under her own weight.

Nora grabbed her arm. "There's no way in hell I'm letting you do that. You're gonna have breakfast with us or God so help me I will break your legs and make sure you never run again."

* * *

Pyrrha felt her stomach convulse violently

"I think… I'm going to puke."

Nora and Ren gave a collective sigh from the kitchen table as they watched their friend moan from her sprawled position on the floor. Whatever strength had allowed her to stand upright and walk through the door had promptly departed in the middle of the living room, and now Pyrrha was left clutching her angry stomach in one hand and a wastebasket in the other as the world spun around her.

She _had_ actually wretched a couple of times already as she laid there, but true to Nora's suspicions, Pyrrha had nothing in her stomach to actually vomit, and the smell of food from the kitchen made her feel even sicker instead of hungry.

Shaking her head, Nora finished up the rest of her pancakes before heading over to the redhead's unmoving form and massaging her back gently.

"You're _that_ fucked up over Jaune, huh," she murmured softly, and it came out more as a statement than a question.

Pyrrha rolled over gingerly to face her best friend. "Ahaha… why… would you say… that?"

From his spot in the kitchen, Ren poured himself a cup of steaming hot tea. "You're not denying it."

Pyrrha closed her eyes. The spinning of the room had gotten to be too much for her. "I guess... I'm not."

"I have to say… we weren't really expecting you to be this strung up on Jaune moving on," Ren murmured sympathetically. "We thought you'd be the one to move on first. "

The redhead felt her face go red with guilt. "Well, excuse me for... having human tendencies, too."

"Like sleeping with him and then saying it was a mistake?" Nora sighed softly. "Y'know, I can't say that I blame the guy. I mean, don't get me wrong, what he did wasn't exactly the most well thought-out of plans either, him and Rubes hitting it off and all, but what you did to him was… kinda messed up."

"God, I know!" Pyrrha groaned, giving Nora a hurt look. "You think that I haven't... been thinking that same thing... for the last week since I got - oh God." She felt the acidic bile suddenly rise up her throat, and she made every determined effort to quell the urge to vomit.

Eventually, the terrible nausea passed, and Pyrrha hesitantly continued. "Besides... I was planning on apologizing…"

"The month after you got back from Fort Soap?" interjected Ren. "Month's a long time, Pyrrha."

"Yes," Pyrrha hissed softly. "That should've been... plenty of time for him to cool down."

"It was plenty of time for him to try to find some other way to find solace," Ren sighed. "But, we're not going to rag on you. After all, we made some assumptions that we shouldn't have, so who are we to talk?"

"That's true," Nora nodded thoughtfully. "I'm sorry if we came off a little mean. But that's only 'cuz you went dark on us all for a month, y'know. So, please, talk to us. We're always here to listen."

Pyrrha grimaced. "I… I don't know. It still feels like you two are picking sides."

Nora and Ren shared a glance.

"We won't. I promise," replied Nora.

"Agreed," added Ren. "And by the way, these pancakes aren't getting any warmer. Do you feel any better?"

Pyrrha took in a deep breath. Most of the nausea seemed to have subsided by now, and she nodded slowly.

"A little."

Ren smiled. "Wonderful. Please, come take a seat by the table and talk with us."

The redhead looked between both Nora and Ren before sitting up with an effort. "… Alright."

* * *

In all the time Nora and Ren had known her, Pyrrha had been a delicate eater, following pretty much every bullet point of meal etiquette in written history.

And it wasn't as if she had completely abandoned all properness as she chowed down on pancakes this time around. However, Pyrrha attacked the pancakes as if she hadn't eaten in days, and despite her fatigued state, she still exhibited none of the sloppiness associated with eating at such a speed.

"Talk about depression eating," Nora muttered under her breath, to which Ren moved to rap his knuckles briskly against the ginger's cranium.

"Ow! Ren!"

Pyrrha glanced up at the squabbling couple and giggled softly. "Some things never change."

Ren and Nora paused their lover's spat for a moment before chuckling along with Pyrrha.

It was the first time all morning that she'd given even a hint of a real smile.

"Well, y'know," Nora chirped. "Someone's always gotta be the comic relief!"

"I refuse to be labeled as such," muttered Ren, sipping his tea.

Nora slapped his back cheerily, causing the huntsman to expel some of the tea from his mouth in a startled fashion.

"Nah, you're the straight man in our Pinky-and-the-Brain routine!"

Ren grumbled as he wiped mouth. "Firstly, I doubt either Pinky or the Brain were trope straight men, and second, the idea that we're a comedy routine scares me."

Pyrrha was just content to watch the couple riff back and forth as she continued to eat.

Eventually, when the pancakes were finished and their appetites were whet, the delicate subject of Pyrrha and Jaune's relationship came up once more.

The redhead stared at her hands as her thumbs twiddled, then sighed.

"It's just… I just… I mean, you guys weren't wrong in thinking I might move on first," the redhead managed. "I thought so, too. At least… at least up until the point when Jaune told me he and Ruby…" She trailed off.

"That's what a divorce is, Pyrrha," Ren smiled sadly. "Eventually, someone's going to have to move on. You, him. Someone has to make that move, and it surprised us too when it was Jaune who did. Talking to him gave me the impression that he was... less than inclined to move on."

"So you see why I thought he wasn't going to move so fast?" Pyrrha attempted to meet her friends' eyes.

"Well…" Nora pulled the neck of her shirt sheepishly. "There _was_ the thing."

The redhead remained silent for a while, and her eyes shifted away once more.

"There's… just no way around it, is there?" she murmured, voice growing hoarse with emotion. "I did a terrible, terrible thing, and I would do anything to take it all back. But… I can't. Because I'm a damned fool."

The couple remained silent. They weren't going to lie to their friend.

Pyrrha continued. "I… I literally have no idea what to do. Every chance that I had to mend our relationship... I… I…_ fucked_ up." She flinched at her own utterance of the expletive. "And… now he's about to start a damn family. How do you… how do _I_ even… start to fix… anything? He's moving on… and I'm just… stuck…"

"Well… you just gotta move on, then!" Nora offered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Pyrrha's reaction towards Nora's simple answer was nothing short of surprise. "I-I'm sorry?"

"Sounds pretty straightforward to me," Nora smiled gently. "Where you are now is pretty much exactly where Jaune was when he was stuck in your little not-together-together limbo. And he pretty much moved on! So you can, too!"

The redhead balked. "But... but that's not what I want to do at all! I want to fix things with Jaune, not just to pretend we were never friends and start dating other people again!"

"While a bit callous, I have to agree with Nora, honestly," Ren replied gently. "I think you have a bit of soul-searching to do, and it's not something you can do by just making up with Jaune. This is something you need to do for you. If you don't want to be in a rut, then you have to force yourself to get out of it. And I know, neither I nor Nora have had to deal with anything like what you're going through, so we can't give you a step-by-step process on how to get back to good, but life requires self-growth, and this is no different." He poured out a cup of tea and passed it to his former teammate.

Pyrrha accepted the drink gingerly and took a cautioned sip, eyes glued to the golden liquid in the cup. "I… don't even know how to date other people. Jaune was the only person I was ever with. I don't… know how to _be_ with anyone else." Her voice grew quiet, as if she was speaking more to herself than she was to her friends. "Do I even want to move on…?"

Ren let slip a hollow laugh, and Nora elbowed him for it.

"Umph!" Ren coughed, before regaining his composure. "Sorry. It's just that Jaune responded the same way when he came to me for advice a while ago."

Nora rolled her eyes. "Pffft. You tricked him into going to a painting class with you and became Confucius. Don't make stuff up."

"Pot calling the kettle black?" Ren retorted calmly.

The ginger grumbled but kept her mouth shut.

Pyrrha chuckled softly in spite of herself.

Ren cleared his throat. "In any case… we won't tell you what you already know, because you're obviously beating yourself up over it. So… just know that we'll be here if you need help or advice."

"Yup!" Nora added. "In fact, if you'd like, maybe we can set you up on a few blind dates, just so you can test the waters?"

Ren nodded. "I know it must be hard to move on from this, but in our line of work, that's the name of the game – relationships are no different. People make mistakes, and however devastating that lesson may turn out to be, we learn from them and become better people because of it. The only reason you should rue yourself because of a mistake like that is if you don't learn from it. And I know you're not that kind of person."

Pyrrha glanced up from her drink, eyes wrought with poorly hidden emotion as she looked between both Ren and Nora, then nodded, although her expression remained sorrowfully unconvinced. "Right… of course."

Nora, taking note of this, gave a sympathetic grin. "Jaune's our friend, and while we do all we can to help him figure his shit out, you're our friend, too, and we're gonna be here for you because that's what friends are for!"

The redhead turned to her, stifling another heavy sigh… before allowing herself a faint, if not hesitant, smile. "Thank you, Nora, Ren. I… I really have no idea how to handle this… but I am glad that you two are here for me. As you've always been."

Nora nodded happily, before standing up from her seat. "Now let's get you a taxi home!"

Pyrrha laughed nervously. "Um… I think I'll just walk –"

"HELL NO! Are you crazy!?" In a flash, Nora's face was inches from Pyrrha's, causing the latter to utter a short yelp in surprise. "If you think we're gonna let you walk all that way home, you've got another thing comin'! Now just wait patiently like a good little dolly and I promise I won't cave your knees in, m'kay?"

All this was delivered while her face twisted into a hauntingly unpleasant smile, and Pyrrha gulped at the all-too familiar sight.

Indeed, some things never change.

"Right," Pyrrha laughed, a bit forceful. "Of course."

* * *

As the taxi sped away from the Valkyrie/Ren household, Nora sauntered back to her seat by Ren at the kitchen table before slumping in the chair.

"That girl… she's in a bad way, ain't she?" Nora murmured wistfully.

"Mmm." Ren only hummed in response.

The ginger glared at her boyfriend and rolled her eyes. "Really, dude?"

"Sorry," Ren smiled mirthlessly. "It's just… I'd never tell them, of course, but those two give me a headache sometimes with how… shall we say, difficult they are. Both of them are fairly hardheaded, and, well, they seem to love ignoring other people's advice for them. They're like teenagers in a rebellious phase."

Nora sighed, then smiled teasingly. "Lookey at you, Renny-Ren. You sound like an old fart trying to teach a bunch of kids how to behave in class. But... this _is_ our old teammates we're talking about here. Ease up on them. They need help, Ren, not scolding, y'know."

Ren looked at Nora meaningfully, then wrapped his adjacent arm around her. "You're right. I'm sorry. I should treat them more like friends then nuisances. God knows they've always been around for us." He sighed. "Sometimes, you're a lot wiser on these matters than I am."

"Oh... shucks, you!" Nora grinned happily and reached a hand up to clasp the one on her shoulder before sobering up a bit. "It must be rough to be in her shoes, though. I think there was a part of her that really hoped to fix their relationship, maybe to when they used to be together-together. But… she doesn't have that chance anymore…"

"Indeed," Ren agreed. "She still loves him deeply, but not just in a platonic way… although maybe she hadn't even realized that herself."

Nora shook her head. "Nope, I think she came around to it. Recently, by the looks of it. And, if I'm being perfectly honest, the way she talks about Jaune moving on with his life with Ruby and all… I can't help but feel like she's a little bit… _jealous_ of him."

"Hmmm… you may be on to something," Ren frowned. "I guess as part of the idea that she'd be the first to move on in that relationship."

"So… like it was a big ol' competition or something?" Nora shook her head, brow furrowed. "No. I just can't see it like that. Pyrrha might be a bit… off, recently, but… I don't think I could ever see her as petty."

Ren remained silent for a moment before nodding. "I hope you're right."

Nora placed her head in the crook of her partner's shoulder. "Me too…"

* * *

Ruby sighed and leaned back in her chair to stretch her arms.

A yawn escaped her mouth as she looked back at the project she'd been working on from home. The beginnings of a new mechanical arm lay assembled on the table in front of her, with various other parts scattered around it.

She sighed happily. It wasn't exactly a perfect execution of such a complex build, seeing as it was her first time dabbling in such, but it was progress nonetheless. Progress was good.

Picking up the nearby Philips screwdriver, she continued to tinker around with the components of the arm for a while until the sound of a door unlocking came to her attention.

Perking at the noise, Ruby grinned. "Hey Jaune! Welcome home!" she called out.

The door closed, and the blonde's scruffy-haired head poked into the dining room, where Ruby sat. "Hey Rubes." He waved at her with a smile and walked over towards the table, where Ruby's work-in-progress lay, placing his briefcase on the floor with a soft _thump_. "You've been busy, huh?"

Ruby stood up from her seat and gave Jaune a light kiss on the cheek. "Yup! Y'know, at first I kinda figured it'd be useful to know how to make these in the future, seeing as I'll be practically living with them, and I figured I could learn how to make different kinds for different purposes… but then I remembered about my job at the weapons mechanic and about how awesome it is when these little huntsmen and huntresses in-training come out of my shop smiling about their new weapons..."

She paused a moment in thought before gesturing at the mechanical arm on the table. "So I thought maybe I could expand a bit and see if maybe I could start making mechanical prosthetics, too! I figured if I start learning how to make these, I might be able to convince the boss to let make me introduce these as a product at the shop and offer repair services for them as well. Not only should there be a sizable clientele for that kinda thing, but, y'know… I could eventually help out a bunch of huntsmen who've become… well, like me." Ruby ended her little spiel with a smile, not one with regret or sadness, but a genuinely pleased smile.

Jaune blinked, wide-eyed.

Ruby frowned. "Hey, you okay? Don't go daydreaming on me now."

"Oh." Jaune shook his head, chuckling. "Sorry. I forget how passionate you can be about these kinds of things."

The redhead puffed her cheeks. "Flattery will get you nowhere," she grumbled in a teasing tone.

"I'm serious!" The blonde reached for Ruby's human hand with both of his own and firmly grasped it. "Not like I should be surprised, actually. I mean, it's just like you… maybe you can't be a huntress anymore, but fate be damned if you can't find a way to keep on helping people like you always, albeit maybe in some different ways. I guess nothing can keep you down for the count in the long run, huh?"

Ruby, staring at her hand in his, smiled coyly. "Oh, you… you're so damn gooey. Our kid is gonna _hate_ us, y'know that?"

Jaune scoffed, pretending to be offended. "Me? Gooey!? P-shaw, I say! And our kid is not gonna hate _me_, of all people, because _I'll_ be the cool parent."

"Please," Ruby laughed. "You weren't even the cool kid in school."

"Ooof... Geez, Rubes, that's kinda harsh!" Jaune groaned.

The redhead grinned. "You started it."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-huh!"

"Okay, okay! Y'know what?" Jaune waved his arms in surrender. "How about we call it a truce?"

He stuck a hand out.

Ruby's eyes narrowed at the hand.

Being sisters with Yang, she knew how this went.

It was definitely a trick.

But then again… this was Jaune, the most genuine person ever. He'd never hurt a fly over a grudge. Or anyone else if he could help it, of course.

But… it _could_ be a trick.

Going against her gut feeling, she stuck her own hand out. "Truce."

Jaune grabbed it.

... And swiftly pulled Ruby towards him before giving her a noogie.

Ruby wrenched away, jaw agape, but before she could retaliate, the blonde had ran out of the kitchen and into the living room, a twinkle in his eye and the biggest shit-eating grin across his face as he disappeared from sight.

"You…" Ruby gasped and shook her head, unable to stop the grin from forming on her own face. "So that's how it's gonna be, huh, Arc? Hell, if you think that you can outrun me, you sure have another thing comin', boy!"

With a newly sparked fire in her eyes, she gave chase, laughing mirthfully.

Parenthood could wait.

* * *

**Story progression, not much else. Felt kinda meh, writing this one. Of course, that could have to do with it being written in segments on an eighteen-hour red-eye flight...**

**There's a pretty good chance that the next piece of writing I release will be something different entirely, not this fic. Quite a bit of new content coming, including something I've been meaning to start for almost a year now, so keep an eye out for that.**

**... Serious question, does anyone want me to actually finish Ten Little Hunters? I mean, there's no passion of work left in it for me, but I also feel bad leaving it incomplete, and there's a lot of prizes there I need to keep with, too. Those I'll certainly get to, but it still feels wrong to just leave the fic as it is (outcomes are all figured out, btw. I just didn't finish filling in the actual story parts yet). If there's still an interest in that finishing up, please let me know via here, Tumblr, reddit, etc, and I'll take it out of the archives and see what I can do.**

**In any case, until next time.**


	10. Dating Blindly

**Another day, another installment!**

**I don't remember when I started writing this chapter, it feels like so long ago. Or maybe that's just college. Or other things that require a couch and a therapist to work out. Or... maybe it's been a long time. I'm rambling. What. **

**I need sleep.**

**Beta: Maxaro. He's becoming more popular than me. I'm so proud of him, like a doting parent.**

* * *

In a simple world, pain plus time equals healing.

Unfortunately, Pyrrha was a huntress, and in that particular field, there was simply no time for moping about.

As such, the next few weeks consisted of several different missions in her schedule, all of which were more her speed as opposed to the prior diplomatic mission she'd been sent on. Most of these missions were mainly mindless combat and clearing out of Grimm in congested areas, which in and of itself was a sort of therapeutic process for Pyrrha.

She couldn't really describe it, but there was just something about the rhythmic hacking and slashing that calmed her bones and just generally kept her mind off of things.

At the same time, the redhead couldn't help but feel some semblance of self-contempt for the increasingly apparent habit of avoiding her problems that until recently hadn't exactly been a bad habit that she was privy to sink into.

And yet here she was, doing just that.

Speaking of "here"… the only reason her mind _did_ happen to delve into such thoughts was because, for once, she was home in her own bed, wide awake.

And yes, this was the time that Pyrrha had promised to herself to begin the healing process in earnest.

But as anyone would tell you… healing is not quite as easy as the simplicity of the word implied. As much as she tried telling herself that it was pointless to think about how she could've repaired relations between her and Jaune, her toxic thoughts continued to point their tiny little pitchforks and daggers and repeatedly stab the brain from whence they came.

It was painful and depressing and awful. But she knew she was simply going to have to live with it for the time being until the wounds finally closed up. She was raised to be tough, and this was no different. Pyrrha was a fighter, after all.

The alarm buzzed.

Pyrrha jumped at the noise, blinking rapidly. Frantically she slammed a fist down onto the device that had disturbed her from her reverie in an attempt to silence its dreadful squawking.

Thankfully, her alertness wasn't clouded by sleep, and the huntress managed to shut off the alarm clock without too much trouble.

It wasn't until afterwards that she realized light had been shining through the blinds of her bedroom window, signaling that morning had indeed come. This took Pyrrha off guard more than it probably should have; was it really morning already? She didn't remember falling asleep, but she must have since it only seemed like she'd been lying in bed for an hour after she had sought refuge under her sheets.

Or perhaps fatigue from the missions as well as her already stressed mind had truly warped her sense of time to such an absurd degree.

Still… Pyrrha was hard pressed to get out of bed. The house simply didn't feel like home – certainly not with the empty half of said house serving as a constant reminder of what was clearly not there anymore.

But that was okay. It was Friday morning, and for the most part, she was free today, and didn't have to worry about embarking on her next mission until the following Tuesday. In fact, the only thing she had to worry about later today was that –

Oh.

She had a date tonight.

* * *

Which was precisely where she found herself now.

Just like that, the day that she had spent fretting over her date had flown by much faster than she would have liked, and suddenly she was there, fidgeting in a somewhat uncomfortable seat in a restaurant of much higher class than she'd usually frequent.

Although perhaps it wasn't the chair itself that was uncomfortable.

Pyrrha inhaled deeply.

She had dressed simply for the date; her cocktail dress was dark and subtle, her heels were stylish yet comfy, and her look was completed with simple makeup, save for the light green wing tips. Her hair, as per usual, was tied up in a long flowing ponytail.

Not quite sure what to do with her hands, she delicately picked up an intricate butter knife laid out on her left and began to run her fingers down its engravings.

_This must be absurdly expensive_, she mused. _Definitely not something I'd be willing to spend money on._

Taking a fleeting glance at the surrounding diners, Pyrrha wondered if she had underdressed for the occasion. But at the same time, she didn't feel like she was here to impress anyone, either.

Oh right. Her date.

The redhead pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned.

This was ridiculous.

She was Pyrrha Nikos, respected by friends and colleagues alike. She didn't need to go on dates to feel validated as a person! She was a strong woman who didn't require the company of men, and she could do as she damn well pleased. Who gave a rat's ass if she was or wasn't in a steady relationship with anybody? If there were any naysayers who had anything demeaning to say about how she lived her life, then they ought to go shove a fire dust crystal up their –

"Excuse me, are you Pyrrha Nikos?"

"GUAAAHHH!" was the guttural sound that forced itself out of the huntress's throat. Her chair leaned back a little too far, and only the most graceful kind of flailing kept Pyrrha from tipping backward.

The green-eyed man jumped back. "Holy - you okay?"

At this point, the huntress realized that the surrounding patrons had turned towards them, most of whom stared at her in disdain out of being disturbed from their meals.

Time to remedy the situation, and fast.

"Y-yes, I'm fine! Sorry about that, my mind was elsewhere and you sort of startled me a bit. Please, take a seat. You must be the date Ren set me up with!" Flustered, she motioned awkwardly with a hand towards the seat across from her as she mentally began to gather her wits.

The man smirked roguishly, and he spoke in a voice as smooth as silk. "Yeah, that would be me! And I should be the one apologizing, I kind of snuck up you there." He pulled out a chair but paused slightly and stared at her outstretched hand. "Is your… hand okay?"

"Hmm?" Pyrrha glanced at her the hand in question. In the midst of her surprise, the butter knife she'd been playing with had stuck to her palm and at this point had been jaggedly crushed at four points. Both her hand and the knife (if you could still call it that) were encased in glow of black aura.

"Dammit…" she muttered, biting her lip. "That's going to be expensive."

With a sigh, she dropped the knife onto the table and mentally turned off her Semblance.

"Again, sorry about that. I'm a bit of a nervous wreck today, I guess…" She blinked as she examined the man's face for the first time that evening.

Something about him seemed quite familiar. Over a ruffled white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, the man wore a brown leather waistcoat that ended longer on his right than the left. Black slacks rested upon brown high-top loafers, and his straight brown hair was pulled back into a small ponytail, topped with a rather wide-brimmed hat sporting a light green feather off the side.

Suddenly realizing just how long she had been staring, Pyrrha cleared her throat. "I believe I know you from somewhere…"

The man flashed her a sparkling grin as he sat down, taking off his hat and setting it to the side. "Hey, you remember me. I was actually one of the finalists along with you at the Vytal Festival Tournament while we were both first years. My name is D'Artagnan Kingfisher." He extended a hand charmingly. "It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

Pyrrha smiled back and shook his hand firmly, relaxing a bit at the familiarity. "Likewise."

D'Artagnan's grin grew brighter, seemingly approving of her handshake.

The atmosphere of the restaurant gradually returned to its somewhat stuffy and elegant calmness, and the two quietly perused their respective menus, exchanging some small talk on the topic of recommendations of food and drink. After a few minutes, a waiter came by to take their orders, and afterwards both huntsmen returned to even more small talk.

"I have to say, you were quite the talk of the town – or at least my school – when we rolled by for the Vytal Festival," hummed D'Artagnan, hands clasped together. "We all knew you as the four-year Mistral Regional champ, so we were all pretty star struck to compete with you."

"O-oh." Pyrrha laughed woodenly, looking away. The sudden change of subject to her previous stardom was off-putting, especially since, of course, it wasn't really a subject she was fond of. "I… I'm flattered."

Unaware of his date's discomfort, the huntsman continued. "I just have to wonder, with all that glory and fame, what does a person like you end up doing?"

"B-being a huntress, of course!"

Pyrrha winced. Maybe that was a little too snappy.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to be brisk, but I _did_ go to a huntsmen's school, after all. It's the profession I was trained for. Sorry if I sounded rude."

"Oh… right. That was a stupid question." D'Artagnan seemed somewhat deflated at the response.

"S-so how do you know Ren?" Pyrrha interjected quickly, already wary of the oncoming awkward moment.

Her date brightened once again – almost literally, in fact, as the sparkle returned to his eye. "Well, I actually worked with Ren on a couple missions in the field. In fact, this last mission we went on…"

The conversation continued easily enough, with Pyrrha letting D'Artagnan take the lead for most of the talking. It wasn't like she didn't have anything to say; just with the added pressure of having her first date in what seemed like forever as well as being a perfectionist, the redhead was doing everything in her power not to make a single misstep.

Although that might have been a lost cause at this point.

Regardless of whatever missteps had already come and gone, it was still her mountain to climb, and she was terrified of falling off.

"So, I found myself having to try my damnednest to start a fire in the middle of nowhere with rain just pouring down on us – I mean, _pouring._" The brown-haired huntsman shuddered, as if reliving the event. "It was, bar none, the most miserable night of my entire life."

Pyrrha smiled sympathetically. "Goodness, I can't even imagine how terrible that must have been. The worst I ever had to deal with was when…" Her eyes wandered briefly across the restaurant.

From across the restaurant, a tuft of unkempt blonde hair caught her eye.

"… Oh no."

D'Artagnan blinked. "Um, Pyrrha? Everything okay?"

The redhead tried to shrink down in her chair. "Oh, nothing, I just thought I saw my –"

The tuft of blonde hair turned, and piercing blue eyes met her own.

"Oh fu- I think we just made eye contact." Panicking, Pyrrha tried to hunch over even more than looked healthy.

"Who?"

"My hus- my ex. I don't know if he noticed – oh no, he's walking over. Why is he walking over? What is he trying to do? Oh dust, I'm not ready to talk to him right now – hey, do you want to leave?" At this point, she was practically resting her whole upper body prone across the table.

"W-what?" D'Artagnan stuttered, utterly confused. "We haven't even gotten our meals yet!"

"I'm sorry, that was a stupid question, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Pyrrha flinched. _Too many apologies._ "Listen, I'll just pretend to go to the restroom for a bit and maybe he'll get the message and – too late, he's here!"

And with that her horizontal upper body instantly shot straight back up. "Hiiiiiii Jaune, how are you it's been so looooooooooong!"

_Fuck._

The ever-friendly smile on Jaune's face faltered, if only slightly. "… Hey. Didn't we just talk like… a week ago?"

"Did we…? I-I suppose we… we did!" She was absolutely flustered. "It… was nice catching up with you!"

"… Yeah." Still confused at Pyrrha's odd mannerisms, Jaune decided to focus his attention on the even more confused date. "I saw you two over here, so I thought I'd just say hi. I'm Jaune."

Pyrrha visibly started in her seat. "Oh! This is Dar…" _Oh no. Did I forget his name? _"Dart…" _Furthermore, why am I still talking? This is ridiculous. What am I doing?_ "… Darterian…?"

The brown-haired huntsman, for the first time that night, looked less than impressed, and he extended a hand out to Jaune. "I'm D'Artagnan. Nice to meet you, Jaune."

Jaune grinned and returned the handshake. "Same."

For some reason, Pyrrha's mouth continued to move. "So, Dart… um… D'Artagnan and I are… well, eating out here, for… dinner. Because we're… on a date! We're on a date…" Somehow, everything that came out of her mouth just sounded worse by the second. "Um… what are you doing here?"

"Oh me?" Jaune pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "I decided to treat Ruby out to dinner. She's been working hard lately, so I thought she could use something like this."

Pyrrha cocked her head in the direction Jaune was pointing and spotted a very wide-eyed Ruby watching the exchange from her table. When their eyes inevitably met, Ruby froze like a deer in headlights, and she nervously lifted a chrome hand to wave at the other redhead before abruptly turning her eyes on the lit candle in the middle of her table.

It was like she was… _scared_ of Pyrrha, and the huntress had to wonder if she had accidently glared down the younger woman.

"Hey, weren't you one of the finalists at the Vytal Festival Tournament all those years ago?" Jaune's voice swiftly brought the redhead's attention back to her own table.

"Actually, I was!" D'Artagnan beamed at the praise. "Third place overall, baby. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself."

"Oh, for sure," agreed Jaune. "Anyway, I won't waste your time anymore. It was nice meeting you, though."

The brown-haired hunter stuck out a hand and shook Jaune's hand once more. "You too!"

Jaune smiled, then turned to Pyrrha. "It was good seeing you again, Pyrrha. We should… grab coffee sometime. If you want, y'know."

The huntress forced a smile. "Y-yeah. Good seeing you too."

Somehow she didn't see herself taking up that offer for coffee anytime soon.

Or ever.

At least not now.

As Jaune walked off, D'Artagnan crossed his arms and sighed. "He seemed like a nice guy."

"Mm-hmm…"

"… So… you know you didn't have to pretend to remember my name, right?"

"… Yes. Right."

Now, when she actually _did_ need to talk and save what sense of pride she had left, Pyrrha's mouth refused to cooperate, and she couldn't help but internally laugh at the irony.

Of course, she could only hear the laughing if she got past the internal screaming first.

Eventually their food came out, and they ate in a very uncomfortable silence.

She couldn't help but look over at Jaune's and Ruby's table after what seemed like every bite.

They looked like they were enjoying themselves.

Her eyes were drawn to Ruby's belly.

It wasn't much, but a noticeable bump had begun to form.

A knot twisted in Pyrrha's chest, and she continued to nibble at her food.

_I… I should be happy for them, right? _

_But then why do I feel like their happiness is ripping my heart out?_

* * *

Spring was beginning to grow warmer, and Pyrrha could feel the mild differences in temperature as she and D'Artagnan waited outside the restaurant for the valet to grab their respective cars. They chatted as they waited, but just barely enough to constitute an exchange of words.

Eventually, D'Artagnan's car arrived first, and he went to pay for the parking.

"H-hey! Um…" Pyrrha stammered a bit before collecting her wits. "I just want to say I'm sorry. That was probably… the worst date you've ever been on, and I know you probably don't want to see me again in any respective or… I-I mean… sheesh. Nevermind. But, I don't know, if you want to… for some reason… give it another shot at some later date, I promise, I won't be as awkward as I was tonight. I was… really out of it today... among other… things."

The brown-haired huntsman let out a long, drawn-out sigh. After a brief pause, he offered her a genuinely warm, albeit sad smile. "I'm sorry, too. But I don't think we should."

Pyrrha's shoulders slumped, and she hugged herself tightly, well aware that it wasn't actually cold. "Figures…"

"Hey, I promise I didn't mean it like that," D'Artagnan reached a hand out to grasp her bare shoulder. "I just think you should take some time. Obviously you and your ex have, or had, some history together, and I feel like you still need to do some recovering from that. In all honesty… I was engaged to someone a while ago, and when she… left, to put it plainly, it was a long time before started dating again. So don't rush things, okay?"

The redhead stared at the hand on her shoulder and was acutely aware of how much she missed the physical touch of a loved one.

Regardless, she shook the feeling and smiled. "Thank you, D'Artagnan. I think… I think I'm going to try to take your advice. This dating stuff…" She managed a light chuckle. "It's exhausting, honestly!"

"It can be. I promise, you weren't the worst one." D'Artagnan smiled. "Take care, Pyrrha."

He climbed into his car and drove off.

Minutes later, Pyrrha's car arrived as well. She paid the fee and drove home, her thoughts blurring past like the night-lit cityscape alongside the windows of her car.

* * *

Two mugs of various ales slammed upon the countertop, foam spilling over the side.

Jaune sighed. "I… kinda feel bad for leaving Ruby behind, y'know?"

Another weekend, and the blonde was beginning to find a different sort of habit emerging in his day to day life: being dragged out on random outings by his friends. This evening, particularly, found him at the local bar with the strangest of bedfellows - Yang Xiao Long.

"Don't worry so damn much," chuckled Yang, setting down her mug of hard cider after a sip. "Besides, it's not like she can drink anyway, now that you've quite literally fucked her over. Ha. Get it?" She elbowed the other blonde playfully before wincing hard. "Oh fuck, I just gave myself a really bad visual…"

Jaune almost spit out his own mouthful of pale ale and used every ounce of focus he had just to down it. "That's your fault, I had nothing to do with that," he laughed, wiping his mouth. "So, what's the big occasion? And on top of that, you didn't bring your fiancée?"

Yang let out an unabashed belch. "I mean, I just came back from the most boring of missions, dude. I needed this. And so I thought, why not you and I go out for some bevs, just us blondes, y'know? I figured I could do something nice for my future brother-in-law!"

Once again, Jaune choked on his beer.

Snickering, Yang thumped his back with her palm. "I'm kidding, of course. But you better marry the _shit_ out of my little sister." She drank another mouthful of cider. "Blake ain't really suited to this kind of drinking, either, y'know, so she's at home. Besides, I got her a new book last week and she's just _absorbed_. I'm not gonna force her away from that."

She clinked her fingers upon the glass of her mug, "But yeah… I needed this."

"Yeah…" Jaune sighed, a thin, hesitant smile playing on his lips as he stared at his cup. "I think… I think I did, too. Thanks, Yang."

Yang frowned at him. "You seem down," she mused. "What's up… or… down? Fuck." She started to chug her drink at the flub.

Jaune snorted. "Am I that transparent?"

"Mmm? Mm-hmm!" The other blonde set down her mug and wiped her mouth with her forearm. "If I'm gonna be honest, you've always worn your troubles on your face. You look… stressed out."

Jaune chuckled. He _felt_ stressed out.

"Ha… I was never good at being subtle, I guess." With his elbows upon the table, Jaune rested his chin in hands. "Well… Ruby's been pregnant for almost a month now… and I guess the whole… pregnancy thing… is starting to hit me?"

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Explain…"

"Uh, well…" Jaune rubbed his eyes. "I mean, we were so excited about the whole thing… and don't get me wrong, I still am. I'm just worried. Like… I don't know the first thing about being a parent, and up until like two weeks ago, having a kid wasn't even on my mind! And now look at me – I'm having a fucking kid. Like… holy shit."

"So… what you're saying is that you don't know what to expect when you're expecting?"

A small snicker escaped from Jaune's mouth. "Goddammit Yang, I'm trying to be serious here."

Sobering slightly, he turned to Yang, an earnest concern in the creases of his face.

"Yang, I'm the least competent person I know, and I know I wasn't exactly the best raised of people… I mean, Weiss could probably tell you how much of a dumb tool I was when we all first met. Point is, what if I… what if I'm a shit parent?"

"You know how I know you won't be a shit parent?" The blonde huntress nonchalantly continued to sip her drink.

"Yang, you don't have to try to make me feel better, I'm just rambling here –"

"Because you care." Yang turned to Jaune, a face hardened like stone. "You give a damn. You're going to actually try, because Jaune Arc might not be the best at what he does, but he tries his damnest, no matter the odds. You always have, even when you knew your ass was gonna get beat, and people have come to respect you for that."

Her fingers wrapped tightly around the handle of her mug, knuckles turning white, and her jaw clenched. "You'll be a good parent because you'll be there for your kid when he or she or whomever needs you. You won't be a… a fucking absentee parent." The last few words came out in a mumble, and Yang's eyes flashed red for the most fleeting of instances.

The professor stayed quiet for a moment. Yang's grudge against her estranged maternal figure wasn't exactly a big secret, but it was still a touchy subject for the blonde huntress, and in perspective Jaune's qualms about parenthood didn't seem quite so big.

"Hey… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to remind you about… her."

Yang shrugged. "No worries. You didn't mean it."

Jaune nodded. "Still… I think I see your point. So… thanks."

"Hey, that's what big sisters are for, right?"

Despite appearances, it was still clear to Jaune that Yang was trying to smile through her own pain.

Holding out his half-filled mug, the professor smirked. "Well, at least you don't have to worry about me leaving Ruby or the kid, because if I try I know you'll come and beat my ass six feet into the ground, am I right?"

Yang threw a sideways glance at Jaune for a moment before slowly offering him a genuine grin. "Ha! You bet your ass I will. I'll drink to that!"

Glasses clinked, ale was drank, and hence filled once and many more times that night.

* * *

**Another mediocre feeling chapter, at least in my head. But, some things are less exciting than others.**

**I'll admit, this chapter started and stopped and started and stopped. I'm just so happy that it's done.**

**I haven't written next chapter yet, but it's already my favorite. You'll see why. In month. Or two. Or...**

**I need to shut up. Or drink. Or sleep. The moon does strange things to the mind. Apparently.**

**Until next time! Hopefully I'll be a little more sane then.**

_**Afternote: **_**Oh! Also, the character D'Artagnan? Yeah, you'll recognize him as the musketeer looking dude from the Vytal Festival Tournament finals lineup. Also known as 1 of 3 of "Erin Winn's Cute Boys."**


	11. Strangelove - Or How Everything Bombed

**Wow, has this been a long time.**

**Life has been a balancing act as of late. But honestly that's kind of an excuse.**

**There's definitely still a lot of stuff I want to work on, stuff in the works, but I'm also aware that I don't have the best completion track record. So... I really want to release more works in the future, especially for you guys who've still followed me despite my inactivity, but don't hold your breath. **

**In any case, thanks for still sticking with me. Special thanks to the few of you who've bothered to check up on me every few weeks or so. You know who you are.**

**This chapter is not the chapter that everyone (including myself) has been waiting for. So I should probably stop saying that about any chapter.**

**Beta: Maxaro. Thanks to you most of all.**

* * *

"Hey Jaune."

"Morning Rubes. Sleep well?"

"Ugh… no. Didn't you hear me barfing in the restroom just now?"

"I… guess I did. Sorry, stupid question."

"Well, that's nothing new for you, is it?"

"… I guess not -"

"Noooooo Jaune, I was just joking! Aww, Jauney… c'mon, y'know I was just kidding, right?"

"…"

"I am soooo sorry! You were just trying to be nice, and I was in a bad mood, and now I've just gone and made a mess, me and my big dumb mouth… Damn this morning sickness bullshit, I promise I didn't mean anything I said, I was just – what's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking to myself, I should trick you into thinking I'm upset more often. It sure has its entertainment value."

"… You're a dick."

Jaune chuckled to himself as he poured both him and Ruby a bowl of Pumpkin Pete's. "Only because you tolerate me."

Ruby rolled her eyes and kissed him on the cheek before taking her bowl and a warm mug of coffee to the kitchen table. "Something like that. Also because child support doesn't sound fun." She pulled out her scroll and began browsing the news section.

"How little faith do you have in me?" The blonde snorted as he joined Ruby at the table.

Without looking up from the scroll, the redhead held out her mechanized arm. "I have _this_ much faith in you."

Jaune raised an amused eyebrow. "Rubes… you're just making a duck with your hand."

Ruby glanced up for a moment at her hand before turning to Jaune with a grin. "So I am."

"Nice to know you're still in good spirits despite morning sickness?"

The redhead's grin faltered slightly, if at all. "Worse things have happened." She went back to reading her scroll.

Jaune nodded heavily.

Without another word, he knew what she was talking about, in terms of both him and herself. And the surface, while it seemed a callous thing to do so, joking about it was really the only thing they could do, and that was fine with Jaune.

He began to eat his own cereal.

"You ever think about what happens… after?" the blond murmured after a brief silence. "Like, what we'd name the kid, or like… how the fuck we're supposed to raise him or her because frankly I have no idea how."

Ruby giggled. "We'll be fine, Jaune. There's plenty of classes and books on how to be good parents –"

"I think I'll opt for the books, thank you very much."

"– and as for the name… I don't really know, but I think we've still got plenty of time to figure it out!" The redhead paused a moment, reaching instinctively towards her small belly bump. "Really, I'm not worried about all that. What I _am_ worried about… is if our kid's gonna get to grow up in a safer environment than we did."

"So… let's not let them be a Huntsman, then. That solves ninety-nine percent of our problems, right?"

Ruby shook her head, smiling. "Jaune… we're not going to _force_ our kid to do what we want them to do. If they want to be a Huntsman, who are we to stop them? I mean, we were allowed to be Huntsmen, too, and if we had that right, then so does any young person. Geez, you _teach_ Huntsmen and Huntresses. That's your literal job description."

"Well, not literally," Jaune muttered. "Literally, it says 'Professor of –'"

"I said 'literally', not 'exactly,' jackass. Point is, how bad would it be if you went up to all of your students – those _kids – _and just said, 'Give it up, everyone. Go home'?"

"Not too bad." The blonde shrugged. "Unlike us, they might actually be whole people."

"I will actually fight you."

"You'll _literally_ fight me?"

Ruby punched him in the arm. Hard. "First of all, I keep fucking telling you – our crutches don't define us. You're not 'PTSD,' I'm not 'Half-Metal.' We're former Huntsmen, that's all. Second, you know damn well that we made an impact as Huntsmen, whether we lasted or not, and – I'll fucking fight you, I swear – doing something right over doing something in tenure is something I will take any day of the week."

She deflated slightly, the rare aggressive spark subsiding. "But… that's a tangent that we can talk about another time. What I meant wasn't about what our kid may or may not do in the future. I was talking about what's right here, in our own backyard. Like… is Vale gonna be safe enough to raise a child in?"

The blonde blinked. "How do you mean?"

"Well..." Ruby sighed. "Criminal activity isn't really unfamiliar to Vale, after all. We've had missions in other kingdoms; I'd say the crime - specifically White Fang - was particularly active here."

Jaune frowned. "That was... I mean, it wasn't exactly _ages_ ago, but it's definitely a hell of a lot better than when we were still hunting. I mean, people raise their kids here all the time now that all the -" he shuddered violently "- the Fang-induced Grimm attacks are over! I mean, Vale's practically leaps and bounds better than what it used to be, with the White Fang and all that bullshit out of the picture, and as far as I know those guys from the Ashes Savannah have legitimately been helping make Vale a better place for humans and faunus alike."

Ruby remained tentatively silent for a moment, clicking her fingers against her scroll before sliding it across the table towards the blonde. "I... saw this just now in the news. You might wanna watch it."

Jaune looked curiously at her before silently watching the holographic news video that popped up from the scroll. Within seconds, his face rapidly lost color as he listened to reporter Lisa Lavender deliver the top headline.

"_Early this morning, a suicide bomber set off an explosion at the site of one of the recent diplomacy meetings between the humans and faunus… the bomber has been identified by security footage as ex-White Fang and radical terrorist Shiro Kiba, whose final words before dying were, 'The treaty shall fall, peace is a lie!' At this moment, five people have been recorded injured, with two in critical condition, but thankfully no other deaths have been reported aside from Kiba…"_

The blonde's fist slowly clenched and unclenched in a rhythm, turning white at the knuckles.

"Shit, maybe I shouldn't have let you watch that…" Ruby quickly moved to snatch the scroll away. "Sorry, Jaune."

"It's fine… It's just that…" The blonde breathed in and out unevenly as his racing heart rate gradually receded back to normal. "Pyrrha was at one of those meetings. At least one, as far as I know."

He could see the redhead tense up out of the corner of his eye, and he felt her hand clasp around his.

"You… you think she might have been there? I mean, while it… y'know…"

Jaune smiled in spite of himself. "I don't think so. But even if she was… she could handle herself, I'm pretty sure. Probably wouldn't have happened, the bomb thing, not if she was there. It's gonna be a lot of trouble for her though, seeing as how this is going to set off tensions out the wazoo."

"I'll bet," Ruby exhaled deeply. "I would've been happy to never hear from the White Fang ever again."

"Yeah… goddammit." Jaune grit his teeth, hand shaking. "I lost… good people for this peace, and these fuckers just can't let it happen. Why…? What's the damn point? There's gonna be a shitton of Grimm they have to worry about breaching the city now, especially since the damn media decided to broadcast the whole fucking thing…"

"Hey, um, question." Ruby grew tentative again. "The, uh… no dreams lately?"

"Uh... huh?" The blonde's face went bank. "That's… a change of subject. What brought that on?"

Ruby smirked sheepishly. "I noticed you shake when you talked about the you-know-what… or, uh, the controlled Grimm attacks…"

"Just now?" Jaune sighed. "I honestly didn't notice. I mean, I definitely still see it clear as day, when I think about. Like I did. And yeah, it… it hurts. A lot, still. It should, y'know? But…"

The blonde hesitated momentarily, then pulled her into a hug. She blinked in surprise as his arms drew her close.

"Jaune?"

He chuckled weakly. "Y'know what? I think I can say that I haven't been having the dreams lately, thankfully enough. Half of me thinks it's the therapy at work… but the other half thinks it could be you."

Ruby reddened slightly and, after a moment's pause, she placed her human hand against his chest. "How do you figure that?"

"Well… ever since we started sleeping in the same bed… having you next to me when I sleep, I don't feel like I'm… alone? Afraid? I feel… like… like…" Jaune's voice trickled into a timid murmur. "Like I have someone who'll protect me. Not the manliest thing, I know, but... I dunno."

Jaune had always been someone who tried (and failed) to mask his insecurity with humor, nonchalance, and, when they were still at their days in Beacon, a pathetically disingenuous machismo.

And, having seen him at his worst before, Ruby knew that his true, raw self was all the more fragile and pained.

She sincerely cherished that, being one of the few people who knew this side of Jaune, despite how he tried to hide it. Leaning into him, she laughed softly, gently. "And here we are with me in _your_ arms. How am I supposed to protect you from here?"

"I dunno, it was stupid. Forget about it."

Ruby pouted. "It's _not _stupid. You're never stupid. Not around me, I promise. I mean, have you seen half the shit I do?"

"Ha… yeah." Jaune sighed. "We used to be leaders."

"And now we're both decommissioned. How ironic is that?"

"About as ironic as your arm."

"… That was _so_ bad, Jaune. I'm not my sister."

The corners of the blonde's mouth twitched upward ever so slightly. "I know. It's not as fun telling puns to people who like them as to people who hate 'em."

Ruby punched him in the shoulder. "I hate 'em. I hate you."

The half-smile grew. "No you don't."

She grinned back. "I don't."

Reaching up, she began to kiss him, and from the scroll, Lisa Lavender continued her report.

"_The meetings have been postponed for the time being, but some question whether or not another meeting may even take place. Some of the politicians express concern over safety and whether meeting again may provoke another attack, while others have explicitly placed suspicion on the true motives of the Ashes Savannah, believing that they may have been responsible for this morning's attacks…"_

* * *

"… This is bullshit," Pyrrha growled. "Just when things were looking up, too… and furthermore, now the whole city knows about it. Why did they even take us off the case?"

"They probably thought the same things we did." Caraway sighed beside her. "That everything was going well enough."

"Well, it's not anymore. No doubt all that attention is going to attract more Grimm to the city than we'd like." Pyrrha rubbed her temples with the flat of her palms in frustration. "Those idiots need people out there who can deal with all this nonsense."

"So… I'm guessing that's why you're here, then?" The surfer-haired huntsman gestured casually towards the Valean Hunters' HQ in which they were currently standing in.

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "You're one to talk. You're here too, aren't you? Although I wouldn't put it past you to have deducted that I would've been here because of the news and stalked me accordingly."

Caraway flinched visibly. "And here I was thinking we were tight."

Pyrrha blinked in confusion before her shoulders slouched in a deflated manner. "I'm… sorry. I shouldn't have… I guess I wish I could keep as clear-minded as you with news like this coming in."

"Ah… well, don't worry about it." The huntsman flashed her a grin, but it was mostly for show. The sting from Pyrrha's previous comment was apparent in Caraway's face, and she could tell.

The two hunters settled into a deep, uncomfortable silence. In the midst of squirming and shifting her weight from foot to foot, Pyrrha racked her brain desperately for something to say.

Finally, she willed her mouth to move. "Did you know during my first year at Beacon the headmaster asked me to become the Fall Maiden?"

Caraway's head turned slowly towards her, a look of disbelief plastered across his face. "... What."

"It's... true." Pyrrha smirked coyly. "It was during the Vytal Festival. I remember them showing me the previous Fall Maiden – or, at least, what was left of her, anyway – and Ozpin asked me if I'd be willing to take her place as the best-fit candidate for the spot. He was afraid that an ominous danger was coming our way and I was urged to decide as soon as I could.

"Needless to say… I didn't take the news very well. I was in between a rock and a hard place – between my sense of destiny and the idea that I would have to leave my old life behind for this one. And, as you can imagine… I almost lost it. The pressure was too much for me. I had no idea what to do, and if it weren't for Jaune, I might have just… I don't know what I would've done, but it wouldn't have helped anyone." She exhaled deeply. "Jaune helped me simplify things when I made mountains out of anthills. I was out of my mind completely."

"I wouldn't have blamed you," assured Caraway. "That's a huge fucking burden for anyone to hold, much less a first year."

"Maybe." Pyrrha chuckled. "Luckily, the danger passed pretty soon afterward, and the council had more time to deliberate who better to take the mantle of Fall Maiden than me. But Jaune was my rock through that whole period. Funny, I don't think he'd ever see it that way, but all this time that he had me help him become the hunter he wanted to be, he unknowingly shaped me into the person I am now."

"Sounds like he meant a lot to you. Or…" The huntsman blinked. "Geez, if that wasn't the most 'no shit' statement in the world…"

The redhead elbowed him in the side, giggling. "I was married to him, after all." Her smile faded slowly. "You know, I used to be a huge believer in destiny. Like, we were all born to walk some certain path set out for us by the heavens. And, when it happened, I even thought I was destined to be in love and married to Jaune forever. But then… Jaune lost his whole squadron, and we split. So… now I'm not so sure."

"You still think about him a lot?"

"I do. I really do. I guess I took a lot of it for granted. What's that really cliché phrase that everyone and their mother keeps telling you? 'You don't know what you have until it's gone'? Yeah. Something like that."

Pyrrha laughed bitterly. "And you know what else? I bet he doesn't think of me. And it's not like I even blame him. He's got Ruby now, and they're about to become a family. I bet things are finally starting to look up for him, and I'm just a distant memory. Why dwell on the past when you're so happy with the future?"

Caraway looked at her for a while before answering softly. "That's a lie. If he's anything like the person you say he is, he thinks about you."

"Yeah right. He seemed so happy the last time I saw him take Ruby out on a dinner date, and ever since I haven't heard a word from him."

"He might be giving you space? I don't know, that's how breakups work, so divorce can't be that much different."

"I doubt it." Pyrrha sighed, shaking her head. "I don't even mean it like I hold a grudge or anything. If anything, I know that I should be happy for him, and a part of me truthfully is. But... it doesn't hurt any less."

Suddenly she clapped her hands, almost enthusiastically. "But on that note, in order to not get myself so caught up in my own self-pity, I've decided to try out dating."

The redhead watched her partner do a double-take. "You – you have?"

"Yes!" She grinned. "Mind you, the first one I went on didn't go so well, and I almost decided to call it quits. But... I figured it's not like I'll get better by doing nothing, so I tried downloading one of those new dating apps and, lo and behold, I found a match! So basically I have a date tonight."

Pyrrha seemed to have imagined it, but for a split second, it looked as if the glint in Caraway's eyes had snuffed out and she swore she saw his face fall briefly – before it swiftly changed into a look of concern. "Are you sure that's smart?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well… I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. You're kinda famous."

"… Oh." Pyrrha's shoulders slumped slightly. "I suppose you're not wrong. Should I... not go through with it?"

"I mean, technically you could ditch him and, I don't know, hang out with me instead?"

The silence was palpable.

"… That was a joke. But I dunno!" Caraway lifted his hands up in concession. "Maybe you're right. Maybe the date could work out? If you really want to give it a shot, don't let me discourage you. And, I guess, if things go really, _really_ badly… at least you get a good story out of it?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "I was already having third thoughts to begin with."

"You had second thoughts?"

"No, I skipped from one to three, as one logically does."

"… Huh?"

"… That was a joke..."

"… Oh. Geez, I thought my jokes were bad." The brown-haired huntsman snickered and scratched the back of his head. "How about this: you can give me a play-by-play of the whole date and I can help you out if you need it?"

Pyrrha chuckled, punching Caraway playfully in the shoulder. "Sure. I'll take all the help I can get."

"Operation 'Get Pyrrha Laid' is a go!" Caraway returned the jab. "You've still got my number?"

"Yes, but… Operation 'Get Pyrrha Laid?' Really?"

Caraway shrugged, grinning widely. "That's ultimately the end goal, isn't it?"

Thankfully for Pyrrha, she wouldn't have to answer that question.

Ithir appeared from around the corner. "Ms. Nikos and Mr. Du Lac? Your briefing is ready. If you'd please follow…"

The redhead turned towards her partner, who offered a nod and a grin in response. She smiled back, and they both turned to follow Ithir into his office.

As they walked, however, Pyrrha couldn't help but mull over the brief, hurt look that her partner's face betrayed, wondering if it had actually been real or if her mind had been playing tricks on her.

* * *

_so… hows the date going_

_Well enough I guess XD I mean he knows me but he isn't making a big fuss about it. That's all you can hope for right?_

_oh sweetie… u really have NEVER been on a date before have u_

_Shut it, you_

_if a tree talks in the middle of a forest and no 1 is around to here it is it still talking_

_Well it most definitely is still "here"_

_shit *hear… u kno what i mean_

Pyrrha stifled a giggle at the text and proceeded to assess her evening thus far.

She was sitting in a nice, not-too-fancy restaurant, dressed in a polka-dot sundress and a jean jacket, which meant that, at the very least, she had made it to the restaurant without casualties.

The redhead wondered where or from whom she had inherited her uncharacteristic gallows humor from.

She did note that the much more casual nature of the restaurant was a hell of a lot less suffocating on her and her nerves, which was a nice change of pace. It also gave her the chance to dress more unassuming, which was good.

Her scroll lit up again:

_food good?_

_If it was bad, what would you do about it?_

_u misunderstand. im asking to see if i should eat there sometime. if yo foods bad it aint my problem_

_You're a dick_

"Can I ask who you're texting?"

Pyrrha looked up from Caraway's texts. The man across from her was a fairly attractive man, dark hair in a quiff and dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans. Not particularly remarkable in appearances, but they matched with similar interests and, upon meeting, Pyrrha found the enthusiasm in the man to be quite charming indeed, if not slightly overbearing. Sure, he seemed _quite_ familiar with who she was, but with that much positive energy she was willing to overlook it.

For now, at least.

The huntress placed the scroll in her pocket. "A friend. He's decided that he wants to help me have a successful date in his own, strange way."

The man grinned widely. "That is, _litrally,_ the best friend that _anyone_ could have!"

"Right." Pyrrha smiled back hesitantly. "So, um, Rhys Draeger, right? You're an auditor for Vale? What exactly do you do?"

"Well, I am _so_ happy that you asked!" Rhys clasped his hands together. "I help the city solve all their budgeting problems so that they can get the proper funding for whatever it is that needs funding, and _boy_ oh boy, sometimes it's _not_ quite the most exhilarating job, but I _know_ that my role is _so _important to the city functioning that just the sheer _impact_ of my role is _litrally_ enough drive for me to push on and make sure that this city is funded to the point of proper functionality!"

Pyrrha blinked. "W-wow. You seem like you really love your job."

"There is, _litrally_, no better word than 'love' to describe how I see my job. Although I have to imagine that being famous is litrally _miles_ above all what_ I_ do!"

Tensely, Pyrrha nodded. "It's… not all that it's cut out to be…"

Rhys gave her a bright smile in return. "Ah, well, it must be a lot of pressure, yes?"

"Yes… yes it is!" Pyrrha smiled back, a little more warmly this time.

Conversation continued easily enough, and Pyrrha was somewhat thankful that she didn't have to say too much. The man could sure _talk_, more than enough for the both of them. Eventually Rhys excused himself to the bathroom to wash his hands before the food came out.

Pyrrha pulled out her scroll: _Guy is… a bit odd. Very talkative, maybe, but very nice!_

_does he look like a bitch_

_Lol be nice_

_pfft im an angel. so whats so odd about this guy_

_He's really positive. REALLY positive. Ball of energy. Kind of much to take in all at once. Also he keeps saying 'literally' funny. I don't think he knows there's an 'e' in it_

… _so hes gay?_

_You think he'd match with me on a dating app if he was gay, you dummy?_

_hey hey some people use them to find friends. dont ask me why cuz i have no idea_

_Aren't you supposed to be helping me here?_

'_help' is a strange word. what do u think it means_

_Such a dick_

_u mean suck a dick?_

_That too. Oh he's back now. Talk later_

_kk dont die!_

* * *

"That was, quite _litrally_, the best meal I've ever had!" exclaimed Rhys as they walked up the stairs to his apartment.

Pyrrha was beginning to think this was a bad idea. Rhys had asked her if she had wanted to accompany him up to his quarters after dinner, and the redhead, having been lonely and forcing her own impulsiveness, had agreed to the offer. She wasn't oblivious to what unspoken propositions might entail, and initially she hadn't really cared, even thinking back to the title that Caraway had teasingly given her "dating campaign." Worst case scenario, she could just leave.

Now, given the time and prolonged company with the auditor, Pyrrha wished she had been wiser and said no.

But that ship had sailed. Rhys, while definitely more animated than Pyrrha was comfortable with, had been exceedingly nice and accommodating, and the redhead figured it would've been shitty if she backed out now. So, hesitantly, she followed.

Still... maybe now would be as good a time to back out as any. Lying about interest was probably be a less considerate alternative.

The redhead couldn't help but think back to the whole Fall Maiden incident all that time ago. Decision-making, she decided, was definitely not her strong suit.

"How was your meal, my dear?" The auditor's voice stirred her from her reverie.

"Oh… it was great!" Pyrrha wore a strained smile.

The meal wasn't any more than mediocre, if Pyrrha was being truthful to herself. But she had other things on her mind. Specifically…

"Hey, I... I don't really think I should –"

"And here we are!" A loud beep from the door before them as Rhys opened it with his scroll. "Welcome to my humble abode! Isn't it just _lovely_?"

The living room was neatly arranged, with white furniture upon white shag carpet and a long hallway to the left. Abstract paintings were strewn upon the red walls, and every appliance and otherwise maintained a sharp, steely edge in design, like a kitchen full of nothing but knives. It was a fancy enough apartment – truly, one that looked like the success of its owner. Pyrrha remembered learning a lot about colors and symbolism from Ren; he would have described the room as "predatory."

The bad feeling in her stomach began to knot even more, especially now that Rhys had seemingly ignored anything she was about to say.

Her scroll made a muffled buzzing from inside her purse, and it took every fiber of discipline for her not to pull it out.

"Just… lovely… listen, Rhys, I think –"

"_Wonderful!_ Here, let me go show you my room! I swear it will _litrally_ be the most amazing thing you have _ever_ seen!"

Her scroll buzzed again.

The auditor grabbed Pyrrha's arm before she could protest and dragged her down the hallway towards what she presumed was his bedroom.

Her stomach knotted even tighter.

She desperately wished Caraway was here. He would know what to do.

"_Ta-da!_" Rhys open the door at the end of the hall and practically pushed Pyrrha inside. "Well? What do you think?"

Pyrrha looked.

She wished she hadn't.

"… This… is this…" Her voice was barely louder than a quivering whisper. "This is all… me…?"

Before her was a room plastered in posters, some of the smaller ones covering the bigger ones. Figurines and stuffed dolls lined every nook and cranny, barely leaving space to navigate. Memorabilia, props, and even a mural tapestry of a bedspread – this looked like the bedroom of some hopelessly obsessed teenage fanboy.

Which would have been disturbing enough, if not for the fact that every single item in that room was also official merchandise of the famed huntress Pyrrha Nikos.

Horror and repulsion twisted her stomach tighter still.

Everywhere she looked, she saw herself staring back.

If she still hadn't had a reason to leave before... she now had every reason.

"I…" The huntress began to back out of the room. "I can't do this. This is… bizarre. This... Rhys, I'm not comfortable with this!"

"_What?_" The enthusiasm drained from the auditor's face. "You don't _like_ it?"

"No... no, I don't."

The face, that once pleasant face, began to twist and contort, rage seeping through the pores, and in that instant Pyrrha knew it had been a façade the whole time. "Why _wouldn't_ you like it? This is _litrally_ my _shrine_ to you. Can't you see how much I respect you, how much I _adore_ you?"

"No." Pyrrha distanced herself from the man further. "This isn't respect. This is fanaticism."

"Why does that make a difference? I _love_ you and you should accept that!" The voice grew angrier, and despite how much it vexed her, Pyrrha decided, for once, to stand her ground.

"You don't think of me as a human being. I'm just an object to you, something to own."

"And now you're judging me because I am _human_? Because I want to show you how much I _love_ you!? We're both successful people - we're _perfect_ for each other!"

"It's apparent in the way you've treated me all of tonight. You seemed nice at first, but you don't talk to me like I'm another person. You talk to me like I'm your plaything -"

"W-well _shut up_! You think you know _literally _everything, because you're Pyrrha-_fucking _-Nikos! You know what you are? You're an _attention whore_ who _literally_ can't see walking _fucking_ gold if it _shat_ in front of her!"

Gone were the niceties that Rhys had shown her at dinner. In their place stood a stark raving-mad lunatic, an entitled screaming _manchild_, throwing a stomping tantrum for not getting what he pleased.

"I _literally_ make money for this city, they _need_ me, and what do you do?" The wild caricature of a man spat and stepped forward towards the huntress. "You are _literally_ some _savage animal idiot_ who only know how to fight! You see how much that's '_helped_' this _goddamn_ city? You're just like all those _savage animals_ of the White Fang who just want to see this world _burn._ All that violence, the bombing, all that _shit_? If it weren't for that, you'd have _literally no job_, and then maybe us with actual jobs could accomplish something for _fucking once_!"

On the other hand, Pyrrha noted that he had started pronouncing "literally" correctly. Damn gallows humor.

"You're not going to get a second date by disrespecting girls," the redhead admonished. "Or even a first. No one deserves to be verbally abused like –"

"YOU DON'T GET TO TALK TO _ME_ LIKE THAT!" Rhys shrieked at her, flapping his arms rapidly as if to gain flight. "I make more _fucking_ money than you make, _TWICE OVER_ because I got an _actual job_ instead of playing hero! If I wrapped my dick in money and you knew any better, you would _literally_ _SUCK IT_! 'Oh, look at me, I'm gonna save people and gain their adoration because I'm a _fucking hero_, and then I'm going treat all of my fans like _LITERAL DOG SHIT_!' You should know _greatness_ when you see it, because I'm _fucking_ better than you and all your _fakeness_, and you should kiss my _fucking_ feet, YOU _FUCKING CUNT_!"

Dead silence.

At this point, Pyrrha had planted herself outside the hellish room, arms wrapped tightly around herself and eyes staring pointedly at the floor. She tried her best to quell the trembling of her body, and her throat constricted, torn between laughing and crying.

Instead of doing either, she opened her mouth to speak.

"… Are you done?" she asked quietly. "Because I'm leaving."

She turned on the heel of her foot.

And she walked briskly out of the apartment, the cacophony of obscenities continuing to loom behind her.

* * *

"_Pyrrha?"_

The huntress sighed shakily, scroll against her ear. "Hey, Caraway."

"_Geez, I was wondering what happened. You ignored my texts for the last hour, I was getting worried for a bit there. Where are you right now?"_

"I'm… in my garage. Sitting in my car."

"… _You sound rough. You doing okay?"_

"I'm… doing…" _Breathe in, breathe out_. _Breathe in..._

"… _Pyrrha. Talk to me, please. You're scaring me."_

His voice, so earnest, so concerned for her. It brought her lashing emotions to a tipping point, and the floodgates could not hold back her tears any longer.

"… I-I'm not fine, Caraway. The date… it all ended badly… T-there were red flags everywhere… I didn't… I c-couldn't… dust, I feel s-so violated…"

"_Vio- oh my God. What did he do to you?"_

She managed a hoarse, mirthless laugh in between sniffs."D-don't worry, he didn't touch me, but he… he was obsessed with me… and then he started saying all these awful things when I tried to leave… I don't know why I thought it would be a good idea to go back with him… Caraway, why do I do all these stupid things? First I lose Jaune… and now this…"

"_You went back with - nevermind, that's not important. Listen, hun, w__e all do stupid things when we're stressed out. None of us are infallible, we all do stupid things. I was kind of stupid when I first met you, right? I mean, that's not anywhere close to _this_… but you get my point, right? Look, this wasn't your fault. Please believe that, because it's the truth."_

"I… I don't know…"

"_Pyrrha, the dude sounded like a creep. You couldn't have known that, and what could you do then, even? People don't just become better unless they know they're bad. You just had really shitty luck tonight, that's all. Alright?"_

"... I… yeah... y-you're probably right." She hugged herself a little more tightly. "I'm just… I'm not thinking straight…"

"_It's okay. You're allowed that after creepy shit like that."_

"Right." She smiled, wiping away tears. "I'll… I think I'll be alright. Given... time."

"_Good, g__ood, that's good. Oh, and Pyrrha?"_

"… Yes?"

"_For what it's worth… I'm glad you're safe. I really am."_

Her smile grew a bit wider. "T-thanks… I'm sorry, this is really late. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"_It's no problem at all." _She could almost hear him smiling back. _"I'm here if you need me."_

They both hung up, and the exhaustion of tear-shedding washed over Pyrrha as she practically chucked her scroll into the passenger's seat. Leaning her chair back, the huntress simply laid there and closed her drying eyes, trying to forget how horrific her whole day had been and instead just trying to remember how to breathe.

A notification of a missed call lit up on her scroll, probably having occurred during her talk with Caraway.

She glanced at it tiredly.

It was simultaneously the person she most and least wanted to talk to:

_Missed Call from Jaune Arc_

* * *

**Ugh... I've known people like Rhys in life. His initial, much saner disposition is a play on Chris Traeger from Parks &amp; Rec. But unfortunately enough, the coolest people turn out to harbor the ugliest personalities. But enough of my soapbox.**

**Interesting to note this is the meatiest chapter I've ever written - 6,000+ words. Goodness me.**

**I'm putting up a poll on my main page to see if I should revive a few old fics, specifically TLH and Tales from the Infinite Playlist. If you're interested in either fic, go ahead and take the poll and maybe I could be convinced to bring back old favorites!**

**Also... this is a bit more unrelated, but I started a podcast with a couple friends on all forms of entertainment. We're called The Casual Enthusiasts and we're on iTunes, if you wanna check it out, or search "casual enthusiasts podcast" on Google. Shameless plug, oops.**

**I love reading your reviews and comments so, please continue to leave them!**

**Love ya'll. Until next time (hopefully soon)!**


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